One of the first questions researchers must ask is if the activity they propose to conduct is, in fact, research. If they determine it is research, the next question is to ask is if the activity involves human subjects. These are important because the answers determine if the activity is subject to IRB oversight. Federal regulations for protecting research subjects provide basic definitions of "research" and of "human subjects." This module will interpret words and phrases used in the definitions from the perspective of research in the social and behavioral sciences and the humanities.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this module, you should be able to: * Explain the definition of research * Explain the definition of human subject * Describe the differences between private and public information and behavior
Defining "Research"
Research is defined by the federal regulations, as "a systematic investigation including research development, testing and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge."
"Systematic investigation"
A great deal of research in the social and behavioral sciences uses what is commonly thought of as the scientific method. However, the interpretation of the term "systematic investigation" depends largely upon discipline-specific methods. It is possible for research to be systematic without conforming in every respect to the elements of the conventional scientific method. For example, when ethnographers study communities, they may not have a priori hypotheses, but many aspects of their research may be systematic including the selection of subjects, decisions about what observations to record, and their interview process.
"Including research development, testing, and evaluation"
Pilot studies, feasibility studies, and other preliminary studies clearly fall under the definition of research. Both of the