Do projects involving ethnographic research procedures need to be reviewed by the IRB committee?
If ethnographic research is limited to observing public behavior in public places and does not involve the identification of specific individuals, then such research usually is “exempt” from IRB review. For ethnographic research involving non-public data or research procedures that go beyond unobtrusive observation, IRB review is needed. The questions of “risk” and “benefits” of the research will be determined on a case-by-case basis. For further information on ethnography and IRB review, please read the statement issued in 2004 by the American Anthropological Association, available on the Internet at http://www.aaanet.org/stmts/irb.htm.
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- Do projects involving ethnographic research procedures need to be reviewed by the IRB committee?
