Canada: When the Subpoena Comes, Universities Should Pay for Independent Legal Advice

In guidance issued in April 2014, the Secretariat on Responsible Conduct of Research finds that "In situations where safeguarding participant information may involve resisting an attempt by legal means to compel disclosure of confidential research information, TCPS 2 requires institutions to provide researchers with financial and other support to obtain independent legal advice or to ensure that such support is provided."

The announcement does not explicitly say so, but I imagine this is somehow a response to the University of Ottawa's earlier refusal to pay the legal costs of researchers who faced a subpoena. On the other hand, the new guidance addresses only "legal advice," not representation.

Berkeley Historian Defends IRB Review of Oral History

Martin Meeker, a historian with the Regional Oral History Office (ROHO) at the University of California, Berkeley, argues that "Historians of the recent past, many of whom use interviews as a source, need to be more systematic about doing oral histories as a form of research [and] that cooperation with IRBs offers one way to do that." What he really means, I think, is that cooperation with IRBs may help historians get legal help from their universities.

[Martin Meeker, "The Berkeley Compromise: Oral History, Human Subjects, and the Meaning of 'Research,'" in Doing Recent History: On Privacy, Copyright, Video Games, Institutional Review Boards, Activist Scholarship, and History That Talks Back, edited by Claire Bond Potter and Renee C. Romano (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2012).]

Li Abandons Suit, But Brown University Still Ponders IRB Reform

Though it no longer faces a faculty lawsuit, Brown University is considering an outside review of its troubled IRB.

As readers of this blog may remember, Brown faculty have been complaining about the IRB since 2007, if not before.

In 2011, a Brown professor, Jin Li, took the highly unusual step of suing the university because of IRB interference in her work. In March, Li abandoned that effort, her attorneys agreeing to a dismissal with prejudice.

According to the Daily Herald, Brown faculty and administrators are discussing possible reforms, including an external review, broader disciplinary representation on the IRB, the creation of an additional IRB for non-biomedical human subject research, and "changing the charge of the IRB to make it not only a monitory board but also one that provides a more supportive and guiding role to research teams."

[Aparaajit Sriram, "IRB Likely to Undergo Review," Brown Daily Herald, 26 April 2012.]

The article does not mention the possibility of an appeals process, the lack of which was one of Li's complaints.

Li and Brown Continue Negotiations

A correspondent asks for an update in the case of Jin Li, the Brown professor who sued her university after its IRB restricted her research.

I checked Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) and found that on January 13, the parties jointly asked for an extension of the discovery deadline, telling the court "that they continue to negotiate a settlement of the claims. Due to the efforts made negotiating a settlement, only minimal discovery has been propounded so far. As such, if the parties are unable to settle, then the parties will need time to complete formal discovery."

I have posted the motion and other key documents on my IRB Documents page.

Inside Higher Ed Reports on Li v. Brown University

Inside Higher Ed reports on the Brown University professor who is suing the university over IRB restrictions. The story quotes your humble blogger.

[Dan Berrett, "IRB Overreach?," Inside Higher Ed, 18 March 2011.]

Professor Sues Brown University Over IRB Mission Creep

Jin Li, Associate Professor of Education at Brown University, has sued the university in federal court for forbidding her from using data from a study she conducted with private funding.

[Alexandria D'Angelo, "Professor Says Brown U Has a Lot of Nerve," Courthouse News Service, 1 March 2011. Thanks to Illuminata for catching this.]