Institutional Review Board and Human Research Protection Program at Bates College
The Bates College Institutional Review Board (IRB) has been established to approve research projects involving the use of human participants (or source-identifiable biospecimens from human participants). The IRB exists both because Bates wants to ensure that research participants are treated with the utmost respect and safety and because federal law requires that all federally funded research involving human participants receive IRB approval. The research projects concerned include not only standard research but in-class research and community-based research (CBR) projects as well, and extend to journals and photographs, video and tape recordings of participants.
In-person data collection is permitted as long as it conforms to current health guidelines established by Bates College. Projects requiring IRB review should include (a) information in the consent form that participation could increase the likelihood of exposure to COVID-19 and (b) a description of the procedures you are taking to minimize exposure and why the potential benefits of your study outweigh the risk of spreading COVID-19.
Data collection that is exempt from IRB review – even if it is in-person – does not need to reviewed.