OHRP Seeks Comment on Expedited Review

As stated in the Federal Register, "The Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) is requesting written comments on a proposed amendment to item 5 of the categories of research that may be reviewed by the institutional review board (IRB) through an expedited review procedure, last published in the Federal Register on November 9, 1998 (63 FR 60364)."
Comments are being taken until December 26, 2007. The full announcement can be found at http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/documents/20071026.htm

This announcement should be of particular interest to oral historians, because the 1998 guidance was, I believe, the first official document to suggest that oral history should even be subject to IRB review. Thus, this is a good opportunity for OHRP to reconsider its whole position on oral history.