Julie Muroff is seeking Ombuds who have been members of IOA for at least one year to participate in confidential interviews about what Ombuds want and need from a professional association. The interviews will take 60 minutes or less and must be completed by August 14, 2026.
Here is her full request:
Ombuds Needed- please help contribute to, and advance, our field!
WHAT: A confidential, 60-minute or less, 1:1 Zoom interview with Julie Muroff- no identifiable information will be shared;
WHEN: A mutually-convenient date that you pick between now and August 14, 2026;
WHY: This is not a study by or for IOA, and no identifiable information will be shared with IOA- but eligibility requires IOA membership for at least one calendar year, because the topic seeks to better understand what ombuds want and need from a professional association.
HOW: Please contact Julie Muroff: Text or call phone: (301) 332-0686; or e-mail (jam10137@nyu.edu), to schedule.
THANK YOU for considering!
Julie
Is this a research study approved by an IRB?
ReplyDeleteWould a voluntary survey not intended to create generalizable knowledge require IRB oversight?
DeleteIsn't this simply a consumer sentiment survey?
DeleteGood question. Is it? Ir, is it intended to uncover onbuds's needs and thus, generate new knowledge. The NYU email address creates ambiguity
DeleteOnly on a blog that appeals to a large number of university personnel would one expect to see IRB appear. lol That said, there is a legitimate question here that anyone working for a university who is soliciting information from human subjects should bear in mind, or what they gather could be impounded by their Human Subjects Protection personnel. Generally, these are exempt from IRB approval:
ReplyDelete0 Course-related activities specifically designed for educational or teaching purposes; where data is collected from and about human subjects as part of a classroom exercise or assignment and will not be used, published or presented outside of the classroom.
* The activity is a case report involving the observation of a single patient whose novel condition or response to treatment was guided by the care provider’s judgment regarding the best interest of the individual.
* An activity only uses publicly available data such as census data or labor statistics. Note: Investigators should contact the IRB if they are uncertain as to whether the data qualifies as “publicly available.” Please enter the names and URLs of the data sets, which will be used for your research: .
* An activity involves research that is limited to death records, autopsy materials, or cadaver specimens (provided that the cadaveric tissues/cells are not used for clinical investigations).
* The activity involves information-gathering interviews where questions focus on things, products, or policies rather than people or their thoughts regarding themselves. Examples: canvassing librarians about their libraries’ inter-library loan policies or periodical purchases or interviews with company engineers or managers about how a product is made.
* The activity involves scholarly and journalistic research (e.g., oral history, journalism, biography, literary criticism, legal research, and historical scholarship), including the collection and use of information, that focus directly on the specific individuals about whom the information is collected.
On the one hand, the instant study might be considered an "activity involves information-gathering interviews where questions focus on things, products, or policies rather than people or their thoughts regarding themselves," thus exempt under the Common Rule. On the other hand, "interviews about what Ombuds want and need" could be considered Human Subjects Research by an IRB given that "needs" go to peoples' thoughts about themselves.
IRBs can be fickle.
Hi, Julie here, thank you for the questions! I encourage folks to please reach out to me directly at jam10137@nyu.edu, or 301-332-0686 for additional information, especially as the recruitment notice was abbreviated for purposes of this blog-- but briefly, this is a research study through my academic institution, NYU, as part of my doctoral research there. Per NYU protocol, IRB approval was not needed, as this was designated and approved as an improvement study, focused specifically on IOA operations. The informed consent document- which is provided to, and reviewed with, all study participants- elaborates. I welcome any further questions!
ReplyDelete