Institutional Review Board
An administrative committee established to review, approve, and monitor research involving human subjects to ensure ethical standards are met.
What is Institutional Review Board?
An Institutional Review Board (IRB), sometimes called a Research Ethics Board (REB), is an independent committee comprised of scientists, non-scientists, and community members. Its primary mandate is to protect the rights, safety, and well-being of human research participants by rigorously evaluating research protocols for ethical compliance, particularly regarding risk, consent, and equity.
Why Institutional Review Board Matters
The IRB acts as a critical checkpoint, providing objective oversight that prevents researchers—who may be biased by their own ambition or proximity to the study—from conducting unethical experiments.
Example
A researcher proposing a psychological experiment that involves mild deception must justify the necessity of the deception and detail the debriefing process to the IRB, which will then determine if the potential scientific knowledge outweighs the temporary psychological discomfort.
Common Mistakes
- Viewing the IRB as an adversary rather than a collaborative body designed to improve research safety and quality.
- Submitting incomplete applications that lack detailed explanations of how participant confidentiality will be maintained.
- Failing to understand the difference between exempt, expedited, and full-board review categories, leading to planning delays.