The Montclair State University IRB in Montclair, NJ, has a variety of strategies to improve research protection compliance, including providing educational materials with eye-catching infographics.
The following are some of the university’s other methods:
- Give away swag. The IRB creates in-house magnets that researchers and professors can stick to their filing cabinets. The magnets say, “I Support Research at Montclair University,” or “Keep Calm and Ethical,” says Hila Berger, research compliance officer at Montclair State University. “These have been well-received, and they’re on filing cabinets all over campus,” she says.
- Attend student research events. The IRB sets up a table with a poster congratulating students and their faculty members at student research events for obtaining IRB approval.1 “My model is approachability, and I’m lucky enough to have a team that embraces that,” Berger says.
- Meet new faculty at their orientation. IRB staff, wearing smiles, meet and greet new faculty on their own turf. This is a time when instructors are most open to hearing about how to conduct research properly, and often they will contact the IRB right after the event.1
- Offer workshops and guest lectures. Workshop surveys showed that after the instructional event, 92% of participants felt better prepared to submit to the IRB. IRB members provide classroom lectures as well, and these have proven to help both students and professors, who are reminded of existing and new policies.1
- Make online learning modules available. These modules can be integrated into an instructor’s course. Almost all of the disciplines offer a research methods course, and these modules include recorded lectures, materials, and a quiz.1
- Meet in person with researchers. In recent years, these face-to-face meetings have increased, Berger notes.“The IRB coordinator does the majority of those when there’s a poorly-submitted application,” she says. “She very nicely suggests they come in and discuss the IRB process and protocol, or sometimes the faculty member will say, ‘Could you sit down with students to go over the protocol?’”
There were 48 face-to-face meetings in 2016, and these last anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, Berger says.
REFERENCE
- Berger HF, Krenzer A, Biascochea M, et al. Creating a culture of compliance with integrity: It takes more than solid policies and a snazzy submission system. Poster presented at PRIM&R’s 2016 Advancing Ethical Research Conference, held Nov. 13-16 in Anaheim, CA. Poster: 4.
The Montclair State University IRB in Montclair, NJ, has a variety of strategies to improve research protection compliance, including providing educational materials with eye-catching infographics.
Article Limit Reached
You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content