Procedures and Guidelines IRB Procedures and Guidelines

Institutional Review Board The Institutional Review Board (IRB) at the University of Denver (DU) is responsible for protecting the rights and safety of individuals participating in research projects that involve human subjects. Currently, the IRB requires training and board approval for any project that is intended to be published outside of the classroom setting and that identifies a subject/participant by name or that involves manipulating a subject’s environment. History of the IRB

IRB WRIT Compliance For the purposes of this class, you will not have to get approval from IRB as long as you abide by the following guidelines. Thus, you will be limited in the field research you conduct. The first limitation is that the research that you conduct is limited to interviews, observation, and/or anonymous surveys of 100 or fewer participants. The second limitation is that the research you conduct is at the discretion of the instructor. This means that research questions and procedures need to be approved by your instructor before you administer them.

IRB WRIT Limits You cannot do field research specifically targeting any of the following: Participants under 18 years of age Physically or mentally disabled participants Participants unable to provide their own legal informed consent Pregnant females as target population Victims Subjects in institutions (e.g., prisons, nursing homes, halfway house) Deception of participants Shock or other forms of punishment Sexually explicit materials or questions Handling of money or other valuable commodities Extraction of blood or other bodily fluids Questions about drug use Questions about sexual orientation, sexual experience, or sexual abuse Purposeful creation of anxiety Any procedure that might be viewed as invasion of privacy Physical exercise or stress Administration of substances to subjects Any procedure that might place subjects at risk Examination of subjects' personal behavior Questions about illegal behavior Compensation to subjects in any form; for example, money or course credit Questions about suicidal thoughts or ideas If doing field research involving any of the following, you have to discuss your research FIRST with your professor: Participants Over 65 years of age Economically of educationally disadvantaged participants

IRB WRIT Policy All polls/surveys/questionnaires must be approved by your instructor before they are administered. Questions that you intend to ask an interviewee must be approved by your instructor. Note that this does not apply to impromptu questions that you as interviewer deem are appropriate while interviewing.

Questionnaires/Polls/Surveys IRB Survey/Questionnaire/Poll Compliance Statement The following passage must be read or printed on every survey or poll you conduct: By completing the following questions, you are also granting consent for this information to be used as part of a research exercise that I am completing for my WRIT class at the University of Denver.  Your participation is completely voluntary.  The information you provide may be used in a class project.  While profile information may be included in my writing project (i.e. your age, sex, class standing, etc.), your name will NOT be used.

Interviews and some Observations IRB Interview and Case Study Compliance Permission Form The following permission form must be signed and handed in with each project that includes any observational data that requires permission to attain (i.e. case studies or ethnographic research conducted in spaces the public is not normally allowed). Furthermore, any interview you conduct must also have this signed permission. By signing on line "a", you are granting consent for this information to be used as part of a research exercise that I am completing for my WRIT class. Your participation is completely voluntary. The information you provide may be used in a class project. By signing on line "a", you are also agreeing that your full name and/or the identity of the organization that is being observed may be revealed in conjunction with your responses. a.__________________________________ ______________ (signature) (date) By signing on line "b", you are granting consent for this information to be used as part of a research exercise that I am completing for my WRIT class at the University of Denver. Your participation is completely voluntary. The information you provide may be used in a class project. By signing on line "b", you are requiring that your identity and/or the identity of the organization will remain confidential. Although profile information may be included in my project, your name and the name of the organization will NOT be used. b. _____________________________ ______________ (signature) (date)

In WoW If you are writing up an external survey, such as a surveymoneky survey, you will need to provide the permissions on the previous slides. In-game interviews are anonymous. However, you should proceed all interactions, surveys, and interviews in-game with the context and permissions statement: “I’m conducting research at a university on this game. Is it OK if I interview/survey you? If so, can I use your character’s name or would you prefer anonymity?”