UK IRB NEWS

College of Education Research

Dialogue with faculty and students from the College of Education (COE) prompted the ORI to update the IRB Guidance on what activities need IRB review. Case reports describing experiences or observations associated with three or fewer individuals generally do not require IRB review as they typically do not meet the "systematic" part of the regulatory definition of research. However, COE research in early childhood, special education, counselor education, by nature, involves small numbers of participants from specialized populations. These projects are often designed to contribute to generalizable knowledge such as informing evidence-based practice (EBP). As such, these projects meet criteria as human subject research.  

In addition, research in early childhood, special education and counseling present unique challenges when the research takes place in the education setting and the investigator's role overlaps with his/her/their position as an educator. To aid in the review of such protocols, the ORI has outlined considerations regarding recruitment, transparency, and voluntariness.

The guidance is available on the Students as Subjects section of the IRB Survival Handbook or at the link below.