This semester, I’m working with a Psychology professor to design and conduct a study about COVID-19 behavior and pro-environmental behavior. This study is based on a survey I conducted for my Capstone project last semester, where I found some really interesting results! This time, I’ll be collecting data from people beyond the Lewis & Clark community. This means that I need approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB), who will make a decision about whether or not I can ethically conduct this study with human subjects.
In my research methods course we learned about the IRB, but this is my first time having hands-on experience with writing an IRB proposal. Luckily, the professor I’m working with (Jolina Ruckert) has written many IRB proposals before! The process has taken a lot more time than I had anticipated, with a lot of focus on writing in a way that clearly communicates the purpose and methods of my study. For example, I am asked to provide a detailed background for this study and why it is important, my research questions and hypotheses, my research methods and descriptions for all my measures, and a risk-benefit analysis.
As I’m working on this proposal, I’m also working on a grant proposal to hopefully receive funding from SAAB. I plan on collecting survey data using an online service called Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, which allows people to get paid for participating in surveys. This is a great resource, since it reaches people besides the LC community. In order to pay people for their participation, I need to apply for funding through SAAB. This application also involves describing the study and why I’m conducting it, and also determining my budget and timeline.
Although this process involves a lot of writing (and is a bit stressful!), I’m enjoying learning about how research studies are developed and approved.