Setting the Stage: Creating Study Sites That Promote the Safety and Dignity of Research Participants
Year: 2014
Type: article
Abstract: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Code of Federal Regulations regarding Protection of Human Subjects (45 C.F.R. part 46) provides guidance to social science researchers on how to minimize risks to research study participants. In most academic contexts, institutional review boards use these regulations to assess and monitor research protocols to limit participants' exposure to physical and psychological risk. Although these guidelines provide rigorous oversight of research activities (for example, recruitment, consent processes, instruments, and protocols), they do not offer direction on how to set up data collection sites (that is, the specific places where interviews or surveys are conducted). Lack of discussion about this critical piece of the project development process ignores the central role of place in constructing human interactions and may put both research subjects and staff at risk. This research note seeks to address this gap in knowledge by drawing attention to the issue and sharing five recommendations for creating a safe study space. Specifically, we discuss the development of a freestanding study site for community-based social science research where data is collected outside the physical space of a university or agency.
Source: Social Work Research
DOI: 10.1093/swr/svu019
Authors: A. B. Smoyer, A. Rosenberg, K. M. Blankenship
Institutions: American University, Yale University
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: National Institute on Drug Abuse
OpenAlex ID: W2330960559