Use this information to pursue approval of Research Ethics for All for your protocol or project.
Research Ethics for All is for community research partners without advanced degrees in scientific, human research-oriented disciplines who will interact with research participants and/or their individually identifiable information for research purposes. Often community research partners do not have a primary affiliation with an academic institution.
It may be important to clarify that community research partners are not research participants.
Research Ethics for All supports community research partners to learn about ethical practices and decision-making in research with people. Completion of the training provides certification in research ethics and compliance for topics relevant to community research partners engaged in social and behavioral research. Research Ethics for All supports community research partners to achieve the following learning outcomes:
Define research with people, jobs of different people on a research team, and ways community research partners can make research better.
State why there are rules for research with people and rights of research participants (Belmont principles).
Describe how to use IRB-approved recruitment and consent materials, follow eligibility criteria, and work with people with and without guardians to make informed, voluntary, and ongoing decisions about being in a research study.
Discuss how to keep research participants safe and what to do when there is information that cannot stay confidential.
Explain responsibilities of community research partners, including ways to protect the rights and well-being of people who are in research and community researchers, one’s own team's rules, conflicts of interest, and authorship.
Research Ethics for All provides general research ethics education tailored to the roles and learning needs of community research partners with developmental disabilities. Research Ethics for All cannot be substituted for research protocol-specific training.
Click to see a table comparing Research Ethics for All and CITI Social Behavioral Educational Foundations
Click here to learn more about the development of Research Ethics for All.
We recommend Research Ethics for All be taught by experienced research project leaders (usually principal investigators or project leaders) or research ethics trainers. These individuals should have current CITI certification in social and behavioral research and experience conducting research and/or teaching about research ethics. These individuals can assess learner understanding and issue certification.
People learning on their own can also access Research Ethics for All. However, people learning on their own cannot obtain certification.
After completing the training, the person who led the training works with individual learners to check their understanding of core Learning Outcome concepts. When the person who led the training is satisfied that the learner has obtained a basic level of understanding, they can use the certificate template to issue a certificate to each learner. Project leaders can submit individualized certificates in their IRB application.
Dear [Human Research Protections Director]:
I am writing to request approval to offer Research Ethics for All to my community research partners instead of [name of institutionally approved research ethics education program]. These community research partners are working with me on [name of research project and, if available, IRB protocol number].
Research Ethics for All is tailored to meet the unique educational needs of community research partners with disabilities. Research Ethics for All provides community research partners with developmental disabilities accessible education in ethical issues in social and behavioral research with people. This education is focused on the roles and responsibilities of community research partners who are engaged in human subjects research.
Research Ethics for All was developed by people with developmental disabilities, disability service providers, researchers, and IRB administrators and members.
Attached is additional information about the development and content of Research Ethics for All. More information can also be found at www.re4all.org.
I look forward to discussing the use of Research Ethics for All at our organization.
Email attachment describing Research Ethics for All for IRBs