This question relates to an IRB protocol that has been submitted for
exemption under Category 1 (research conducted in established or
commonly accepted educational settings...). A faculty member is
proposing to study the difference in learning between a group of
students in one lecture course who have the same instructor for the
co-requisite laboratory and a group of students in another lecture
section who have a different instructor for the co-requisite lab. At
this point, I must agree that this is exemptable under Category 1.
However, since the students are not randomly assigned to the two
different groups, the investigator wants to make sure the two groups are
"probabilistically equivalent" by conducting an Analysis of Covariance
design that uses GPA and SAT scores "in order to normalize the two
student groups to remove variance from students self-selecting their
lecture and lab sections." Our professors have access to student
records on the Student Information System, which include SAT scores and
GPA. However, I don't know what they are legally allowed to use this
information for--I understand that FIRPA may come into play, but I'm
not familiar with its requirements.
Is this protocol exemptable as is or must the investigator get written
consent from the students to use their GPAs and SAT scores for this
research purpose?
Thanks!
Barbara
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