Hi Barbara,
If this in in fact a forgery, that PI has done a dreadful thing in signing her
own permission slip! Regardless of the innocuos nature of the procedure she is
planning, it is still a major breach of the highest magnitude, and it should
never, ever happen.
How do you know it is a forgery?
If it is, she should under no circumstances be allowed to proceed, and if you
all overlook it, you are tacitly giving approval by failure to act.
In this case I don't think the students' short term needs come first; a model
of ethical behavior is absolutely required, and the ends do not justify the
means. Whatever follows from that is what the institution has to face up to
and deal with, even if it is major unpleasantness.
I don't think your office should even have to determine what to do; it should
come from the President's office.
Roberta

Barbara Gray wrote:

> Compliance/IRB staffers out there, how would you deal with this situation?
>
> We require department chairs to sign off on human subject applications.
> A faculty member is in a rush to have an human subject protocol approved
> (under expedited criteria) for a very innocuous procedure--virtually no
> risk at all except it is a phyical measurement that does not fit within
> exemption criteria.  (Note that the project involves students who will
> be collecting the data as part of a class assignment.)  She indicates
> she'll just sign for her chair, we indicate that she can't do that, and,
> lo and behold, the signature page comes in a couple of days later with
> the chair's signature forged.
>
> Would you take this to her chair?  Her dean?  The provost?  Would you
> prohibit her from implementing the protocol (which will impact the
> students in her class)?  Would you bar her from doing human subject
> research for a period of time?  Is this "misconduct" that should be
> referred for handling through ORI regs?  (note that we've made our
> misconduct policy applicable to all research and scholarship, not just
> that funded externally or by the Feds.)  Personally, I find the faculty
> member's action offensive and unethical (if not downright illegal)--if
> she will do this on an application, might she do the same someday on a
> consent form??  But, in the big scheme of things, is this worth going to
> the mat on?  After all, it's only falsification of an internal
> signature, not scientific data....
>
> Thanks.
>
> --
> ==================================================================
> Barbara H. Gray, Director
> Office of Research & Grants Administration
> College of Charleston
> 66 George Street
> Charleston, SC  29424
> Campus Location:  407-G Bell Bldg.
> Office: 843.953.5673  Desk: 843.953.5885  Fax:  843.953.6577
> e-mail:  xxxxxx@cofc.edu   URL: http://www.orga.cofc.edu/
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