Not sure if my research idea qualifies for exemption from IRB review

[Criminologist]

I have read through the policies and am not sure whether I need to submit my research idea for IRB approval. My data collection method is experimental and would involve submitting job applications (online) with fake information (name, address, school, degrees, jobs, etc.). The data collection would be done by myself and since it is performed online there are no actual human subjects involved.

[Eigen]

This sounds like a question your advisor needs to answer after looking over your experimental design.

[fuzzylogician]

Your advisor should know. Beyond that, contact the IRB office at your school. In my experience IRB offices at different schools can be more/less strict, and what one officer will worry about a lot the other might not mind at all. Usually they have "office hours" where you can either walk in or schedule an appointment with someone and describe your research to them. They can help you determine whether or not you need to submit an application and what kind it would be. Based on your description I would guess that you do need to submit an application, even if it's just for an exemption. 

 

The fact that you are doing the study online does not mean that there are no actual human subjects involved -- who do you expect to interact with your online manipulation if not humans? What you want to say is that you can't ask them for consent because that would undermine the purpose of the study. I don't know what you do in that case, but it's something you need to figure out ahead of time. One good place to start is published papers that used a similar methodology: what did they do? If they don't say in the paper, you might consider emailing the authors to ask. This, of course, only in case your advisor can't just tell you what the procedure should be. 

[rising_star]

Online doesn't mean exempt from going through IRB by any means. You should look at the website for your IRB and see whether or not they have any forms or checklists you can utilize to figure out what they might require of your project. Even if your project is "exempt", that doesn't mean you don't have to fill out paperwork where they verify that this is the case.

[Criminologist]

The reason I didn't ask my adviser first is because this topic is not in their interest area. I will probably just send an email to the IRB staff at the school. Thanks.

[rising_star]

Before you email them, I would read through everything they have posted online. Your situation is probably discussed in a FAQ, checklist, or form on their website as it's something I've come across many times.

[bhr]

honestly, I IRB everything I touch that could ever potentially turn into a presentation or paper. If there aren't any risk to subjects, submit it as exempt and it should go through no problem. I'm guessing your university, like most, has a pretty in-depth support system for IRBs including training modules and documentation, so I would start there to figure out what exempt reason you can claim (for submission, not to avoid it)

[Eigen]

I do know one person with a horror story of not having IRB approval at one of two schools for a study... They ended up not being able to use any of the data for their dissertation. Was a disaster. 

 

Accordingly, I agree with the "IRB everything" standpoint. 

[artsy16]

At my institution, "exempt" still means IRB approval is needed, but the application is expedited because of minimal risk/simple study design. Talk to your adviser and someone at the IRB office at your institution to find out exactly what "exempt" means at your institution although I would be surprised if there were different standards across schools.

[lyrehc]

My department chair recommends always submitting to IRB. There are frequently times when they will kick back the submission with a note that IRB approval is unnecessary, but having it is protection in case someone questions you down the road. Often journals want that verification even if the university IRB doesn't care.