The Department of Political Science at High
Point University has adopted a policy regarding the treatment of human
participants in research to encourage responsible research. All research
projects will be conducted according to the ethical principles of the
American Political Science
Association and
High Point
University policy on the use of human participants in research.
The department’s guidelines are designed to minimize harms to
participants and to ensure that any potential risks to participants are
outweighed by the potential benefits of the research.
Research is defined as any “systematic
investigation…designed to develop or contribute to generalizable
knowledge” (see section 46.102.d of DHHS Code of Federal Regulations,
2005). Political science faculty members may conduct their own research
and/or oversee students conducting research. Political science students
may be required or have the option of conducting research that uses
human participants.
The department of
Political Science has a chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha,
the
nation's
largest Political Science honors fraternity
Some political science research does not need
to be approved by the IRB. Research, for example, that draws upon data
that does not involve individually identifiable human participants, such
as secondary analyses of the American National Election Study data or
other “public use” survey datasets, need not go through the IRB.
Similarly, research that draws upon the content of secondary sources
that are readily available to the general public, such as newspapers or
Congressional testimony, need not go through the IRB.
Students and faculty
who intend to conduct research involving people must apply for and
receive IRB approval before beginning that research. Some common
examples of research in political science involving human participants
include: in-person and telephone surveys, interviews and focus groups,
and the observation of people’s public or private behavior.
The information that researchers using human
subjects must provide to the IRB varies. Many research protocols, such
as secondary analysis of surveys that do not contain information
allowing participants to be identified, may undergo “expedited” review.
Other projects may require the researcher to provide detailed
information on the risks to participants as well as the potential
benefits of the study.
To avert the need for each student to submit an
IRB application for identical research projects, such as frequently
occurs in a research methods course, faculty members may submit a single
“umbrella” research proposal to the IRB that details the protocol for
research to be conducted by the members of the class. Approval of the
research proposal by the IRB will enable students to conduct research so
long as the research closely adheres to the guidelines listed in the
faculty-submitted proposal.
Faculty or students who conduct a unique
project (i.e., research that does not conform to a protocol previously
submitted to and approved by the IRB in conjunction with a specific
course) are required to submit their proposals to the IRB and to receive
its approval in advance of collecting data. Students should consult the
faculty member overseeing their project for clarification and
instructions on how to prepare and submit proposals.
Detailed information regarding IRB guidelines,
as well as the forms and procedures to be used by faculty and students
conducting research at High Point University, may be found at:
http://www.highpoint.edu/academics/IRB/.
