tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-525778292565554519.post3629353322690019543..comments2018-01-03T07:02:32.059-05:00Comments on Institutional Review Blog: Journal Retracts Interview-Based Article for Lack of IRB ApprovalZachary M. Schraghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07101709506166167477noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-525778292565554519.post-21005600418860849312013-03-02T16:37:40.841-05:002013-03-02T16:37:40.841-05:00Thanks for this message.
Costa Rica is a stable ...Thanks for this message. <br /><br />Costa Rica is a stable democracy that in 2013 earned <a href="http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/freedom-world-2013" rel="nofollow">Freedom House</a>'s highest scores for both political rights and civil liberties.<br /><br />I agree that a false claim of IRB approval is grounds for retraction. But the facts as stated make me wonder if the explanation for the false statement might be a confusion between approval and exemption.Zachary M. Schraghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07101709506166167477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-525778292565554519.post-91165712782184143412013-03-02T16:27:47.738-05:002013-03-02T16:27:47.738-05:00I don't know anything about the political situ...I don't know anything about the political situation in Costa Rica, and I'm not making any statement about what might have happened in this case, but I can certainly imagine situations in which a regime was so repressive and/or xenophobic that it might take action against any of its citizens who responded to a survey on a politically sensitive topic. In that situation you would be creating a risk for your survey respondents, and there really would be a serious ethical issue to be considered. <br /> <br />At another level, it's a clear ethical violation to claim that IRB approval was obtained when it had not in fact been obtained. If I were the editor of the journal, I'd be comfortable defending the decision to retract the paper on that basis alone. <br /> <br />As an IRB member, I'd be very upset if someone claimed that our IRB had approved a proposal when we hadn't actually approved it. Brian Borchershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18216044824246034466noreply@blogger.com