Levels of Review

Level 1: Research to be reviewed by the Bethel Institutional Review Board

If your research includes any of the following criteria, it must be reviewed by the Institutional Review Board.

1. Research in which the data is collected and/or cataloged in a manner that directly or indirectly identifies participants.

2. Research on stressful or highly personal topics, including but not limited to:

• Physical or mental health 
• Drug or alcohol use
• Sexual identity, attitudes or behavior
• Gender identity, or attitudes related to gender
• Racial/ethnic identity, or attitudes related to culture, race, ethnicity
• Illegal conduct
• Religious/spiritual attitudes or behavior

3. Research involving vulnerable populations.

Research involving children under the age of 18, pregnant women, prisoners, wards, persons with impaired decision-making capacity, and economically or educationally disadvantaged persons. (see the Federal Regulations)

4. Research for which the use of assessment instruments requires appropriate credentialing.

Research involving the use of instruments to assess psychopathology or personality, which requires adequate training for proper administration and interpretation (e.g., MMPI).

5. Research such that if a participant's responses became known outside the research it could reasonably place him/her at risk in the following ways:

• Criminal or civil liability
• Damage to the participant's financial standing
• Damage to the participant's employability or employment status
• Damage to the participant's standing at an academic institution
• Damage to the participant's reputation

6. Research in which data are collected through videotape, audio tape, or photographs, since it is impossible to completely remove or disguise identifying information when using such methods.

7. Research conducted by investigators external to Bethel.

8. Research that involves Bethel alums and/or electronic recruitment.

Bethel institutional policy regarding electronic communications distinguishes between currently and non-currently attending constituents, with the latter referring, for example, to alumni. Recruitment practices therefore differ depending upon which group of constituents you would be contacting. For alumni of Bethel and for electronic recruitment of alums or other non-currently attending constituents, there is an additional step in the approval process that is required before the IRB can approve a study. Given Bethel policies, the researcher would have to coordinate the recruitment of alums with the Office of Alumni and Parent Services and/or the Office of Communications and Marketing (Tim Hammer timothy-hammer@bethel.edu ). Representatives from these two offices will determine the appropriateness of the request to contact alums and inform you about the information that needs to be included in your electronic communication with alumni.

Level 2: Research to be reviewed by the supervising department(s)

If your research includes any of the following criteria and does not meet the criteria for Level 1, it may be reviewed by the Supervising/Consulting Department(s), provided the department has a mechanism in place for conducting such reviews.

1. Research involving curricular and instructional strategies.

Research conducted in established or commonly accepted educational settings, involving normal educational practices such as educational testing, instructional strategies, curricula, or classroom management methods, directed toward the class as a whole, for the purpose of improving "in-house" educational instruction.

2. Research involving benign behavioral interventions.

Research in which different conditions are created and applied by the researcher to groups of participants, with benign defined as "brief in duration, harmless, painless, not physically invasive, not likely to have a significant adverse impact on the subjects, and the researcher has no reason to think the subjects will find the intervention offensive or embarrasing" (see the Federal Regulations).

Level 3: Research to be reviewed by the instructor/supervisor

If your research involves survey/interview procedures, observation of public behavior, or archival data, and does not meet the criteria for review at Level 1 or Level 2, it may be reviewed by your instructor/supervisor, provided the instructor/supervisor has a mechanism in place for conducting such reviews.

1. Research using survey/interview procedures.

When all of the following conditions exist, the research can be considered Survey/Interview Procedures.

• Participants are at least 18 years old.
• Participants are not from vulnerable populations (see the Federal Regulations), which include:
  
  • Children under the age of 18
  • Pregnant women, prisoners, wards, persons with impaired decision-making capacity, and economically or educationally disadvantaged persons
• Participants will receive appropriate pre-survey/interview disclosure, such as an informed consent form or a detailed cover letter.
• Responses are recorded in such a manner that the participants cannot be identified, directly or through identifiers linked to the participants.
• No visual or audio recording is used.

2. Observation of public behavior.

Research involving the observation of public behavior, if the investigator is not a participant in the activity being observed.

When each of the following conditions exist, research can be considered Observation of Public Behavior:

• Observations are recorded in such a manner that the participants cannot be identified, directly or through identifiers linked to the participants.
• Responses are recorded in such a manner that the participants cannot be identified, directly or through identifiers linked to the participants.
• No visual or audio-recording is used.

3. Research using secondary or archival data

Research involving the use of existing data, documents, records, or specimens, if (1) the data is publicly available or (2) the information is recorded in such a manner that the participants cannot be identified, directly or indirectly, through identifiers linked to the participants.

The use of secondary or archival data (i.e., previously collected data provided to the researcher by an organization) requires written approval from an appropriate authority to obtain and use the data. This must be submitted with the Human Subjects Review Form.

Institutional Review Board, Bethel University, updated July 29, 2024

Adapted from the Federal Regulations and materials of the University of Minnesota, Committee on the Use of Human Subjects in Research.