1. Procedures and Guidelines
IRB
Procedures and Guidelines

2. 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

3. 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.

4. 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

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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)

8. 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?”