Introduction: Protecting Human Subjects Across the Geographic Research Process

Abstract

This collection of articles examines diverse aspects of human subjects protection. All are authored by geographers actively engaged with human subjects, whether as administrators, active researchers, or both. The articles’ common point of departure is that human subjects protection is not a one-off event; rather, it is a process that is stretched out temporally and spatially, involving multiple actors. Our aim is pragmatic inasmuch as we focus on pushing beyond recounting “IRB horror stories” to engaging productively with conceptual, thematic, and operational aspects of human subjects protection across the research process from a geography-specific perspective.

Esta colección de artículos examina diversos aspectos de la protección de asuntos humanos. Todos son de la autoría de geógrafos activamente involucrados con sujetos humanos ya sea como administradores, investigadores activos, o ambos. El punto común de partida de estos artículos es que la protección de los seres humanos no es un hecho aislado, sino que es un proceso que se extiende temporal y espacialmente, involucrando múltiples actores. Nuestro objetivo es pragmático en cuanto nos centremos en impulsar más allá del recuento de “historias de horror IRB” para participar productivamente en los aspectos conceptuales, temáticos y operativos de la protección de los seres humanos en todo el proceso de investigación desde una perspectiva geográfica específica.

Key Words:

• ethics
• human subjects
• institutional review boards
• research

关键词:

• 职业道德
• 人类主体
• 机构审查委员会
• 研究

Palabras clave:

• ética
• seres humanos
• comités institucionales de revisión
• investigación

Notes

¹ 45 CFR 46 subparts B, C, and D deal with specific populations (pregnant women, fetuses, and neonates; prisoners; and children, respectively) and have also been adopted by some of the agencies adopting the Common Rule (subpart A). CFR stands for Code of Federal Regulations, broadly defined as the codification of administrative law in the United States. The Central Intelligence Agency and Social Security Administration are also required to follow 45 CFR 46, including all subparts.

² The specifics depend on the terms of each institution's Federal-Wide Assurance, the agreement between the institution and the Office for Human Research Protections, which is the agency within the HHS that oversees and enforces human subjects legislation (see Pritchard 2001).