ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the main issues students will need to consider when submitting their proposed thesis/dissertation research for ethics review. In most cases, research involving human participants must be approved by a formally appointed institutional review board (IRB). An IRB is also sometimes called an independent ethics committee, or ethical review board, and in Canada it is called a research ethics board (REB). An IRB is subject to regulations by the US’s Health and Human Services or Federal Drug Agency’s IRB. The chapter provides a detailed overview of the IRB and REB procedures, policies, and underlying principles, which have influenced research policies in many countries. The goals of IRBs are to ensure that research with humans meets the highest ethical standards and those participants are protected from physical or psychological harm. University-related IRBs are usually composed of faculty members from multiple disciplines, such as sociology, biology, education, psychology, economics, public health, and others that are often involved in human research.
