Question

A researcher wants to observe preschoolers at a local public playground to evaluate levels of cooperation. The researcher will not interact with the children or record information in such a manner that the identity of the subjects can be readily ascertained. Which of the following statements is true? This research would require full committee review because it involves children. This research would be eligible for expedited IRB review because the researcher is not interacting with the children and the playground is public. This research would be eligible for exemption because the researcher is not interacting with the children and the playground is a public setting. This research would be eligible for expedited IRB review because the researcher is participating in the activities observed.

Answer 1

The correct answer is - This research would be eligible for exemption because the researcher is not interacting with the children and the playground is a public setting. This type of research does not need IRB (IRB being institutional review board also known as ethics committee) review because the researcher will not be interacting with the children in anyway, it is purely observational and the setting is a public place, in addition all children will remain anonymous in the study, therefore the researcher is not breaking any code of ethics.