Surveys

[Sharon]

Since research surveys are posted here at times and school is restarting. I thought this article was very timely. It discusses the use of a survey that was not authorized by the organization's human research institutional review board.

Second Opinion: Breaking the Rules of Medical Research

"...Turns out the study was deeply flawed.

For starters, the study did not have approval from the hospital's institutional review board (IRB), the watchdog ethics group that oversees all human research studies in academic centers. None of the participants in the study had given their consent. They did not even know they were in a study. At the time, they were taking a mandatory course on substance abuse and were asked to fill out a survey on drinking behavior. The first thing the residents knew of the study was when the findings were published in late 1999...."

[Charles S. Smith, RN, MS]

Respondents beware! Filling out any survey form may "imply" consent and your data may be included in research reports. Only fill out surveys where you given the facts about how the survey results are to be used, how your anonymity and/or confidentiality will be maintained and for what purposes the research is being used. Further, unless you are specifically asked to check a box (online survey), sign an informed consent, don't do the survey.

best to all

chas