Publication Criteria and IRB RegulationsEvaluation GuidelinesThe JSCE offers speedy publication of high quality work as a service to authors who have crafted papers for delivery at the annual meeting of the SCE, and as a service to the members of the Society and of the larger academic community who benefit from the published presentation of these contributions to ethical inquiry. The editors' first objective, then, is to discern which of the papers, among those submitted for consideration, represent the most penetrating and fruitful contributions to our common enterprise of inquiry. The system of expert and editorial review developed by the editorial board has been put in place to ensure fairness and equity in the assessment of the quality of the papers available for publication. In selecting papers for publication, the editors and editorial board will consider whether the paper:
Referees and co-editors will use the following criteria when evaluating papers:
The following criteria are strongly encouraged.
IRB Regulations on Research Involving Human SubjectsAs some members of the Society of Christian Ethics begin to engage research methodologies that include data gathering by means of research involving human subjects, the SCE recognizes that this type of research may fall under the purview of the US Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Human Research Protections and Federal Code Regulations 45 CFR Part 46 (Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects, also known as the “Common Rule”; full text http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/humansubjects/commonrule/index.html) or analogous agencies in other countries. In order to ensure that the highest standards of research are employed in studies that include the participation of human subjects and consistent with the “Standards of Professional Conduct” of the SCE (http://scethics.org/about-sce/who-we-are/official-documents/standards-professional-conduct/section-2-professional), the SCE requires of its members conducting research with human subjects, which they propose and intend to present at the Annual Meeting or a Regional Meeting of the SCE, that they seek approval from a local Institutional Review Board (IRB) or its analogue in countries outside of the US in compliance with the “Common Rule” or with analogous laws of other countries. The “Common Rule” requires that research involving human subjects undergo scrutiny by and receive approval from an IRB or its analogue prior to the start of study to ensure that subjects are protected from harm (policy approved, SCE Board of Directors, January 8, 2009). Dedicated to promoting “scholarly work in Christian ethics and in the relation of Christian ethics to other traditions of ethics, and to social, economic, political and cultural problems” (“Purpose,” SCE), the SCE is increasingly aware of the benefits of interdisciplinary initiatives and members have begun to use some of the research methodologies of complementary disciplines. Likewise, SCE members utilize published historical and contemporary studies that address various human rights and social justice issues in national and international contexts as well as pioneering research that depends upon the participation of research subjects. Particularly regarding research in applied ethics, individuals and groups have been consulted, interviewed, and/or observed with a view to the ethicist’s descriptive, analytical, and evaluative research followed by the presentation of findings based in part on the ethicist’s work with human subjects. It is to these methodologies used for research proposed and intended for presentation at Annual or Regional meetings that the SCE policy regarding research with human subjects is directed. Moreover, rather than being a burden to SCE members, the requirement of IRB/analogue approval reminds researchers of their professional responsibility to ensure that appropriate protections are in place before they initiate studies that involve human subjects (see JSCE, “Publication Criteria,” SCE website http://www.scethics.org/journal.html or the Office for Human Research Protections Investigator Responsibility Frequently Asked Questions http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/investigatefaq.html; when in doubt, consult your local IRB/analogue). The SCE is committed to the highest standards of scholarship and conduct among our members and between our members and the communities they serve, and the subjects –personal and theoretical—they investigate. Recognizing the “Standards of Professional Conduct” and the “Purpose” of the SCE, members of the Society have particular professional commitments and responsibilities; chief among them is the protection of human subjects before, during, and after the conduct of research that involves methodologies based on data gathering by ethnographic studies, fieldwork, interviews, deliberate observation, etc. Our principal concern is that “our examination of moral issues shall respect the dignity of persons whose practices and positions we study.” Some examples of scholarly activity to which this IRB Policy applies:
Some examples of scholarly activity to which this policy does not apply:
Much of the work among the members of the SCE would qualify as exempt. However, whenever research involves human subjects as part of the research methodology of collecting data, that research protocol ought to be submitted to a local IRB; the IRB is the party responsible for the determination that a research protocol is exempt from these policy requirements. For the official/federal guidelines determining research that qualifies as exempt from this policy see 45 CFR §46.101 (b). 45 CFR §46.102 Definitions (abbreviated). (d) Research means a systematic investigation, including research development, testing and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge.
(f) Human subject means a living individual about whom an investigator (whether professional or student) conducting research obtains (1) Data through intervention or interaction with the individual, or (2) Identifiable private information.
Another resource: http://www.learnstuff.com/federal-regulations-for-the-protection-of-human-subjects/ |