Evidence map›Paper›PMID 22174893›Full record

ArticlePloS one2011

The ethics police?: IRBs' views concerning their power.

Robert Klitzman

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
26citing papers in PubMed
4.1field-weighted citation impact, top 7% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

26 citing papers in PubMed, 49 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Precision Health: The Role of the Social and Behavioral Sciences in Advancing the Vision.Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine · 2020
    Article
  4. A Qualitative Study on Experiences and Perspectives of Members of a Dutch Medical Research Ethics Committee.HEC forum : an interdisciplinary journal on hospitals' ethical and legal issues · 2020
    Article
  5. Data Access Committees.BMC medical ethics · 2020
    Article
  6. Article
  7. How Single Institutional Review Boards Manage Their Own Conflicts of Interest: Findings From a National Interview Study.Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges · 2019
    Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Ethics Review for a Multi-Site Project Involving Tribal Nations in the Northern Plains.Journal of empirical research on human research ethics : JERHRE · 2016
    Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Those Responsible for Approving Research Studies Have Poor Knowledge of Research Study Design: a Knowledge Assessment of Institutional Review Board Members.Acta informatica medica : AIM : journal of the Society for Medical Informatics of Bosnia & Herzegovina : casopis Drustva za medicinsku informatiku BiH · 2015
    Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. How IRBs view and make decisions about social risks.Journal of empirical research on human research ethics : JERHRE · 2013
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.

Robert KlitzmanDepartment of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America. RLK2@columbia.edu
Columbia University · US

Funding

IRBs: Ethics, Context and InterpretationsG13LM009996 · NLM · NEW YORK STATE PSYCHIATRIC INSTITUTE DBA RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR MENTAL HYGIENE, INC · PI KLITZMAN, ROBERT L · 2009 to 2011
$240k
NLM NIH HHS 5-G13-LM009996-02NLM NIH HHS G13 LM009996PHS HHS R01-NG04214
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn recent years, tensions between IRBs and principal investigators (PIs) have risen, posing the needs to understand these conflicts, their underlying causes, and possible solutions. Researchers frequently complain about IRBs, but how IRBs perceive and respond to these criticisms is unclear.

methodsI conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews of two hours each with 46 chairs, administrators, and members. I contacted the leadership of 60 IRBs around the country (every fourth one in the list of the top 240 institutions by NIH funding) and interviewed IRB leaders from 34 of these institutions (response rate = 55%).

resultsInterviewees suggest that IRBs and PIs may view the nature and causes of these conflicts very differently and misunderstand each other, exacerbating tensions. Interviewees often recognized that they were seen by PIs as having power, but many IRBs saw themselves as not having it (e.g., because they are "merely following the regulations," and their process is "open," impersonal and unbiased, and they are themselves subject to higher administrative agencies), or as having it, but feeling it is small, and/or justified (e.g., because it is based on overriding goals and "the community values," and IRBs are trying to help PIs). Questions emerge as to whether IRBs do or should have power, and if so, what kind, how much, and when. Several factors may affect these tensions.

conclusionsThis study, the first to explore how IRBs perceive and understand conflicts and power relationships with PIs, suggests how IRBs and PIs may differ in viewing their respective roles and relationships, exacerbating tensions. These issues have critical implications for IRBs and PIs--to enhance their awareness and understanding of these conflicts (e.g., that IRBs may have discretionary power) and the underlying causes involved, and for increasing attention to research, practice, and policy concerning these areas of IRB functioning and interactions with PIs.

Indexed as

Ethics, ResearchPower, PsychologicalEthics Committees, ResearchFemaleHumansMaleResearch PersonnelSurveys and Questionnaires

Identifiers

PMID22174893
PMCPMC3236766
OpenAlexW1974817309

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.