Please register for individual seminars by sending an e-mail to ask.humansubjects@nyu.edu. Please include the date and title of the seminar you wish to attend in the subject line of your e-mail.
Seminars will be held at NYU’s Office of Sponsored Programs Conference Room,
665 Broadway, Suite 801. All seminars begin promptly at 4:00pm.
Seminars for Spring 2012 are as follows:
IRB Made Easy* – April 24, 2012 (4-6pm) new location at Kimmel Center, Room 808.
Are you a researcher at NYU, or the faculty sponsor for a student research project- or is there someone you know who could benefit from a short session on IRB basics? “IRB Made Easy” is the first in a series of seminars that have been created to help investigators negotiate the submission, review and approval process of human subjects research.
IRB made easy covers:
⇒ Principles of conducting ethical human subjects research;
⇒ Types of review;
⇒ the application process itself;
⇒ Common pitfalls.
*This course can be used for Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) credit.
International Research Concerns – February 28, 2012 (4-6pm)
It is the responsibility of researchers to provide individuals who serve as international human subjects with the same protections they would receive if the research were conducted in the United States. Additionally, individual countries or regions have their own regulations which researchers must familiarize themselves with and follow.
This seminar provides guidance for researchers in developing their international research plans and for addressing specific questions relating to the IRB review of protocols involving international study sites:
- International FWAs, IRBs and REBs
- Requirements for federally-funded research
- Knowledge of local research context (Investigator and IRB requirements)
- Protecting confidentiality in international settings
- Changes in consent process to accommodate local norms and to protect study subjects
- Planning ahead, addressing locale-specific risks, thinking globally
Considerations for Social, Educational and Research Risk/Classroom Based Research – March 27, 2012 (4-6pm)
Minimal risk means that the probability and magnitude of harm or discomfort anticipated in the research are not greater in and of themselves than those ordinarily encountered in daily life or during the performance of routine physical or psychological examinations or tests.
This definition of “Minimal risk” has become the threshold for judging acceptable levels of participant risk. That this definition is somewhat vague is in truth an asset to IRBs, as it allows for the judgment of the merits of protocols on a case-by-case basis. The downside of this is that it may in some instances contribute to an overestimation of the risks in social, behavioral and educational research as these disciplines present risks that are relative rather than absolute.
This seminar will introduce investigators to key issues in minimal risk research and current guidance from the Office for Human Research Protections. The goal is to increase investigators' awareness of and ability to reference important concepts used by IRBs in discussing research participation within a “minimal risk” framework.
Researchers frequently conduct research in schools and educational settings, using methods such as: observation of classrooms; interviews with teachers, administrators and students; questionnaires given to teachers, administrators and students; video or audio taping of classrooms; focus groups; interviews with parents about their children, and analysis of student records for demographic, behavioral and academic achievement data as well as analysis of teaching and staff meeting notes. There are also times when an investigator incorporates into school activities interventions for specific purposes such as to improve the academic achievement or social well-being of students. This work - especially if it involves direct interaction between the investigator and students, or if it involves matters that are sensitive as defined by the regulations, presents significant issues to the researcher, the students and the IRB.
