Question

Dr. MacLeod is the chair of an institutional review board at a local university. He recently received a research proposal from Dr. Portree. Dr. Portree wants to conduct a study in which she tells graduating seniors that they have failed all of their classes and will not be graduating college to see how college students cope with stress. She wants to randomly choose enrolled students at the university to send her "failing notices" and she points out that she cannot have them sign a consent form because if they knew that they are in a research study they might not believe that they are failing and it will ruin the results of the study. Should Dr. Macleod allow Dr. Portree to conduct her study with the university students?
A. Yes, the forward progress of science, especially in the area of stress and health is very important. He should let her conduct her research.
B. No, He should not let her conduct her research because it violates the ethical rule that participants must freely choose to participate in a study and must be free to withdraw at any time.
C. No, it should not be allowed because it violates the rule that participants' privacy must be protected.
D. Yes, he should let her conduct her research. Although being told about not passing their classes and flunking out of college would be severely stressing, it would not likely rise to the level of violating the rule that participants must be protected from undue physical or mental harm.

Answer 1

Answer:

B. No, He should not let her conduct her research because it violates the ethical rule that participants must freely choose to participate in a study and must be free to withdraw at any time.

Explanation:

The Consent Form is the document that explains, in clear and objective language, all the procedures, advantages and disadvantages of being a research subject in a given protocol. It is the first step for the patient to join a study. This term must be signed by anyone who will participate in a scientific research. It should not contain the basic information of the sponsor and the Ethics Committee that approved this project, and is mandatory for all participants. Dr. Portree wants to do a study with students from a university without allowing them to sign the consent form, this is very serious because it violates ethical research rules, so it should be prevented from conducting your study.