Ethics Information

Ethics Submission for Research Involving Human Participants.docx (fill in the blank form)

The Psychological Sciences Department Ethics Committee reviews ethics proposals that do not require review by the College-wide Protection of Human Subjects Committee. General guidelines for which committee a proposal should be submitted to are listed below:

If the goal of the research is to disseminate the data in some fashion (e.g., publication, conference presentation, make the data accessible on a website), then the ethics proposal should be reviewed by the College-wide Protection of Human Subjects Committee. Please see the website above for details about submitting an ethics proposal to the Protection of Human Subjects Committee.
If the data from the research project will not be disseminated to the public, then the ethics proposal should be reviewed by the Psychological Sciences Department Ethics Committee. Generally, the Psychological Sciences Department Ethics Committee reviews ethics proposals for research projects that will be conducted as part of a course, usually for Research Methods (PSYC 302) or in one of the 400-level research courses. Links to forms and instructions for submitting an ethics proposal to the Psychological Sciences Department Ethics Committee are available on this webpage.

If you are unsure which committee (Psychological Sciences Department Ethics Committee or College-wide Protection of Human Subjects Committee) should review your protocol, please contact the chair of the Psychological Sciences Department Ethics Committee.

Guidelines for Department Ethics Proposal Submission

A properly completed protocol will include a rationale (1-2 pages) for the study, full procedures, description of the participants, recruitment processes, copies of all tests, questionnaires, all interview questions, the informed consent form, and all other pertinent information.

Two printed copies of your proposal must be submitted to Professor Thrash’s mailbox in the Psychological Sciences Department office well before you begin running subjects. Incomplete proposals, or those that raise questions for the reviewer, will be returned to your faculty supervisor for revision. All proposals must be reviewed and signed by your faculty advisor before submission to the committee.

Chair of the Ethics Committee

Todd Thrash
Psychology Department
Phone: 757-221-3887
Email: [[tmthra]]