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IRB & Human Subjects

Yesterday I attended a training class on the Human Subjects research approval process. For a humanities scholar, this was a step into a new world. Never had I considered the research that I did to be anywhere related to the atrocities that have been committed in the name of science. I still don't quite understand why I'm having to submit to this process, but submit I must.

So I've been putting together my "test instruments," which is a fancy way of saying that I'm getting together survey questions and assignment directions. Ugh. The upside, of course, is that I will have set the course for both of my classes next year by the end of this week. The downside is that I will have set the course for both of my classes next year. I like to live by the seat of my pants in class, so having to adhere to a rigid research agenda in class will be challenging.

One good piece of news: I don't have to get retroactive permissions for the data that exists in the program from Spring 2004. Whew. Speaking of that, I need to email the IRB folks to find out exactly what I need to do to use that data. So I'm outta here.