This semester, I've had the unique experience of working with a professor on a research study about COVID-19 and pro-environmental behavior. This is an area of research I find really interesting and feel strongly about having more information about how and why people choose to engage in behaviors that benefit others. Earlier in the semester I began writing a proposal for this project that I then submitted to Lewis & Clark's Institutional Review Board (IRB). This board makes decisions about what studies can be conducted at LC.
The first response I heard from the IRB was good news, but not exactly what I had hoped for. After reviewing my proposal, they provisionally approved the study. This meant that I needed to make some specific changes they had requested in order for them to approve the study. I felt pretty stressed about not getting approval this first time, because the study is time sensitive and we are approaching the last stretch of the semester! But the revisions they requested were pretty minor and easy to make, along with the help of my faculty advisor.
The IRB reviewed my revised proposal quickly and approved the study! This was great news to get and got me really excited about the next steps in this process. Now that the study has been approved, I'll be working on preparing some of the technical aspects. I'm using two services for collecting survey data: Amazon's Mechanical Turk (mTurk) and Qualtrics. I've never used either before, but I feel very lucky to have connections to other professors and students who use these platforms and can offer advice.
I'm also finishing up my application for grant funding for the project from SAAB. I'm hoping to get all of those application materials submitted by this Wednesday so that I can present my project to SAAB the following Monday! Hopefully after all of those steps, I will receive funding so I can start collecting survey data (and paying my participants!)
This project has been a huge learning experience for me already, even though I haven't started collecting data yet. Writing an IRB proposal and applying for grant funding are essential parts of the research process that I'm sure I'll do many times again if I continue to pursue Psychology post-grad. It's exciting to learn how the process works and get hands on experience!
If anyone would like to hear more about the IRB process and my experiences with it as a student, please feel free to reach out: calebweinhardt@lclark.edu.