The most common types of research conducted at Vassar that are exempt from IRB review are the following:<\/p>\n
1. \u201cResearch involving the use of educational tests (cognitive, diagnostic, aptitude, achievement), survey procedures, interview procedures or observation of public behavior, unless: 2. “Research involving benign behavioral interventions in conjunction with the collection of information from an adult subject through verbal or written responses (including data entry) or audiovisual recording if the subject prospectively agrees to the intervention and information collection” and the conditions given above under #1 are also met.<\/span><\/p>\n “Benign behavioral interventions are brief in duration, harmless, painless, not physically invasive, not likely to have a significant adverse lasting impact on the subjects, and the investigator has no reason to think the subjects will find the interventions offensive or embarrassing. Provided all such criteria are met, examples of such benign behavioral interventions would include having the subjects play an online game, having them solve puzzles under various noise conditions, or having them decide how to allocate a nominal amount of received cash between themselves and someone else.”<\/span><\/p>\n “If the research involves deceiving the subjects regarding the nature or purposes of the research, this exemption is not applicable unless the subject authorizes the deception through a prospective agreement to participate in research in circumstances in which the subject is informed that he or she will be unaware of or misled regarding the nature or purposes of the research.”<\/span><\/p>\n Note that if a project doesn\u2019t constitute research, then it is also exempt from IRB review. The HHS defines research as \u201ca systematic investigation, including research development, testing and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge.\u201d Oral history is excluded as long as it falls under the category of \u201cscholarly and journalistic activities that collect and use information about specific individuals themselves.\u201d On the other hand \u201cstudies using methods such as participant observation and ethnographic studies, in which investigators gather information from individuals in order to understand the beliefs, customs, and practices, not only of those individuals, but also of the community or group to which they belong\u201d would represent \u201cgeneralizable knowledge\u201d and therefore not excluded from IRB review under these new rules<\/a>.<\/p>\n Important: not all of the above categories of research are exempt if the participants are minors. A full list of the types of research that are exempt from IRB review can be found here<\/a> (see section d); if children are involved as participants, also see the information located here<\/a>.<\/p>\n You as the researcher are responsible for checking the Covid-19 guidelines in the jurisdiction where the research will take place. <\/strong> Your exempt determination form should indicate whether the guidelines apply to your project and, if so, how you will address any relevant safety concerns in your methods and procedures.<\/p>\n You must receive approval from the IRB for your research to be considered exempt. Use the form below to make a preliminary determination of whether or not your project is exempt from IRB review and the IRB will normally respond to you within one week:
\n(i) information obtained is recorded in such a manner that human subjects can be identified, directly or through identifiers linked to the subjects; and (ii) any disclosure of the human subjects’ responses outside the research could reasonably place the subjects at risk of criminal or civil liability or be damaging to the subjects’ financial standing, employability, or reputation.\u201d If these conditions are not met but the IRB determines through a process called “limited review” that that there are adequate privacy and confidentiality protections, the research may still qualify as exempt.<\/span><\/p>\n