> At 10:15 AM -0500 6/12/00, Mike Scoles wrote:
> >If the purpose of the IRB is to ensure that participants are not harmed and
> >that their rights are protected, why should intent be relevant?
> >
On Mon, 12 Jun 2000, Paul Brandon wrote:
> 'Function' might be a better term than 'intent'.
> If the function of the data collection is instructional, and its research
> use a minor byproduct (in other words, if the data would have been
> collected to assess and improve instruction even if research were not
> involved) then it would not fall within the purview of an IRB.
>
I think this is where I get confused. If your function/intent is
instructional, but you collect the *exact same information* as someone who
has a function/intent of publishing the data, where is the difference as
far as the student/participant is concerned? They all receive the same
"treatment," but in one case, they sign informed consent, etc., and the
situation is treated very differently all around.
A logical (?) extension of this: If an instructor wants to publish the
data, can a student--per his or her rights as a participant in any other
research study--opt out of the class assignment?
Don't get me wrong==I fully agree with the protection of participants and
the functions of IRBs. I also agree with those who suggest that a line
must be drawn somewhere. It just seems to me that "intent/function" seems
like a somewhat arbitrary line to choose, given that two instructors could
do use the exact same procedure, but one would have an extra preliminary
step. I suppose I'm just being Socrates' gadfly here.
Jeff
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Jeff Bartel
http://www-personal.ksu.edu/~jbartel
Department of Psychology, Kansas State University
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