The pandemic has led to changes in many parts of our lives — including what and how we research. The Office of Human Research Protections has introduced a number of new guidelines for conducting human research. Etown students and faculty alike are feeling the effect.
The new OHRP protections are intended to prioritize public health and safety of both the researchers and research subjects. To follow these guidelines, the Elizabethtown College Institutional Review Board (IRB) recommends avoiding in-person contact while doing research. People wanting to conduct research with in-person must explain in their IRB application why it is necessary for the study. They must also detail what COVID-19 safety precautions will be taken during the course of the study.
According to the OHRP, many researchers have been postponing or otherwise cancelling non-essential studies to reduce the possibility of transmitting the COVID-19 virus. This pattern has continued at Etown, according to professor of psychology and IRB Chair Dr. Michael Roy. In the past, many studies done at Etown College were done in-person. This year, people are instead doing more survey-based research studies. Surveys have their own disadvantages and may not be the best research method for every study, but the main benefit of surveys is that they can be done virtually.
Many Etown faculty members, particularly those hoping to achieve tenure, are expected to do research and publish papers. These faculty members are having to find and develop new ways of doing research. According to Roy, a lot of research is now being done on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people’s lives, including on how people teach and learn.
“Really this actually could be one of the boons we get out of this — we’ll learn a lot more about learning, and different techniques that we can use in the classroom,” Roy said.
The safety measures required during the pandemic are also impacting how people present the research they do. In the past, the research done by students at Etown would be an opportunity for them to go to conferences to present their work and network with people in their field.
“Some projects would’ve been taken to conferences that are now being done online,” Roy said. “It’s a different experience and it will be more difficult for students to network.”
This is simply another aspect of the pandemic everyone will have to adjust to.
Other things remain the same, however. Although the IRB is in the process of updating its procedures, the process of reviewing research applications has not been changed yet. Once the IRB has determined what type of review is required for a particular application, it is sent to the appropriate people on the review board. Students and faculty can submit research applications to the IRB through the website, www.irbnet.org.
