[Air-l] CFP: Special Issue on Campus Institutional Review Boards

[Lois Ann Scheidt]

Since several people on this list are interested in IRB issues I am
forwarding this announcement to all.  I am not connected with the journal
so please address any questions as instructed on their website,
http://www.ku.edu/~jacr/
______________________________________________________________________ 

Special Issue on Campus Institutional Review Boards
 
Journal of Applied Communication Research
 
Call for Contributions
 
Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) have become a mainstay of all
university campuses in the United States that receive federal funding or
grants. Over the years IRBs have become increasingly active in their
oversight of communication scholarship. This oversight can be particularly
constraining for applied communication scholars who often study at risk
populations (e.g. prisoners, physically abused women, children) and/or
uncontrolled contexts (e.g. health care settings, anarchist gatherings,
workplace violence). 
 The purpose of this special issue of the Journal of Applied Communication
Research is to explore the experiences of communication scholars with IRBs
and the practices communication scholars use to manage the IRB process.
The general approach of this special issue will be similar to the special
issue on sexual harassment published in JACR in 1992. 
 
To explore these topics, we request submissions of brief narratives on any
of the following topics:
 
1.      Positive experiences working with a campus IRB.
2.      Negative experiences working with a campus IRB.
3.      Advice for gaining IRB approval.
4.      Resistance strategies used to cope with a campus IRB. 
 
Contributors may submit narratives for more than one category or may
combine categories in their narratives.  Narratives may vary in length
from a few sentences to a maximum of four double spaced pages and may be
single authored or coauthored. Narratives can be written in either the 1st
or 3rd person. Narratives need to avoid revealing individual,
departmental, and institutional identities.
 
Narratives should be based on personal experience. Reports of direct
interaction with others describing their experiences, advice, or
strategies may be included. Avoid including rumors and hearsay examples
without direct knowledge of the accuracy of the information. 
 
Due to the sensitive nature of this topic, the narratives will be
published anonymously. However, scholars who wish to be recognized for
their contributions will have the option of being listed alphabetically at
the end of all the narratives, whether their narratives are selected for
publication or not. For an example of this approach see the special issue
on sexual harassment published in JACR in 1992. 
 
The special issue will include an introductory essay on the purpose and
functions of IRB, representative narratives from those submitted, and one
or more essays analyzing the narrative contributions.
 
Your Consent: By submitting a narrative you are consenting to have your
narrative published anonymously and you are also consenting to have other
scholars analyze your published narrative. The benefit of your
participation in this project will be your contribution to an important
scholarly conversation concerning the way research is conducted by applied
communication scholars. There is a slight risk that your local IRB could
discover your participation in this project and take punitive actions
against you for what you have written. However, since the narratives will
be published anonymously and written so that individuals and institutions
cannot definitively be identified, this is a minimal risk, even less than
might be experienced by sharing the stories with colleagues. 
 
Submission guidelines:  
1)      Do not submit narratives electronically. Electronic submissions
will not be considered.
2)      Include two printed copies of your narrative and a computer disk
(floppy or CD) with a word file of your narrative. Do not include any
personal identifiers on the printed copies or on the computer disk or
file. Narratives should be double spaced and follow APA 5th edition
guidelines. 
3)      In an accompanying letter, indicate which category or categories
of narrative you feel best describes your contribution. 
4)      In the same letter, indicate whether you wish to be listed
alphabetically as a contributor of a narrative. 
5)      In the same letter, include a statement indicating that you are
giving your consent to have the narrative published in JACR and are
consenting to have it analyzed by other scholars. 
 
Send contributions by April 30th, 2004 to:
 
Special Issue on IRB
Debbie Dougherty/Michael Kramer, editors
115 Switzler Hall
Department of Communication
University of Missouri
Columbia, MO 65211
 
DoughertyD at Missouri.edu
KramerM at Missouri.edu



Lois Ann Scheidt MPA MIS SPHR CCP
Doctoral Student
School of Library and Information Science
Indiana University
Bloomington IN USA
Webpage:  http://www.loisscheidt.com
Blog:  http://www.professional-lurker.com