However, given the comments returned from the IRB, it seems like the institution has deviated from its original mission of protecting participant rights, and has decided that it is a glorified grammar police organization. I submitted a proposal, and the feedback I received had nothing to do with the study design. I talked to another classmate, and his experience with the IRB was similar. After he submitted a study, the feedback he got was mostly regarding the placement of semi-colons and substitution of one specific word for another. If these small details are the primary concern of the IRB, the institution needs to re-examine its role in research, and determine whether substituting synonyms is really worth their time, and the time of the researchers involved.
As a grad student operating under a time limit, I do not appreciate the unneeded and nit picky commentary. I really don't care if the reviewers of IRB have problems with the way a page is formatted - that's not their job anyway. Their real job should be to review the study itself for the purpose of protecting participants. Additionally, spending time on superfluous paperwork is both inconvenient and unnecessary. Why should my study be held up by an organization that is more concerned with my punctuation and protocol, when they could just review it for the study's design and actual merit in less than half the time? I think the the IRB needs to refocus their mission and determine whether these small details and the endless forms are enhancing their mission, or detracting from it. For me, the answer is obvious.
I for one, think that simplification is always the best method of ensuring efficiency. If the IRB's primary purpose is to protect research subjects, than the focus of their review process should be on the effects of the study itself on the subjects and not the researcher's grammar. If the IRB is trying to discourage people from developing research ideas, the mindless protocol, procedure, and paperwork are doing just that.
Anyways, on with the blunder of the day:
I walked to school today (hooray, my ankle is working again!), only to realize that my socks kept slipping down, and the back of my foot was getting scraped raw by my shoe. By the time I got to class, the blood had soaked through my sock and seeped into the seams of my shoe. I had a blood stain about the size of two quarters along the heel of my sock. I was not happy, and yes, it hurt.
Which brings me to the blessing of the day:
I went to a bathroom, took off my shoe and sock, and started washing the blood off of the fabric. I took a paper towel and cleaned the blood off my heel and shoe. A girl noticed what was going on and asked, "Are you ok?" I explained to her that my shoe had scraped my foot, and that's why I was bleeding. She promptly took off her Uggs, and offered me her socks. I really didn't know what to do - here I was, standing in the bathroom with a bloody foot, a wet sock, and a stranger offering me her new socks. She was rather insistent, so I borrowed her socks for the day. I am going to return the socks later this week, but I think she deserves a plate of cookies and a hearty "Thank you" for her kindness.
I don't think I have ever been so thankful for a pair of socks and the kindness of a stranger.
i had the same problem with my irb too, who the heck cares if i put the semicolon in the right place, the people i worked with didnt even know what a semi colon was so sersiously why would they care
ReplyDeletePlease look at paragraph 3, line 8, word 7. I think there is a grammatical error.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness. I'd never think someone's used socks could be a blessing, but they truly were. You were so lucky!
ReplyDelete