IRB
There is a group of incredibly knowledgeable people at both of Yale's Institutional Review Boards - HIC and HSC - who are happy to answer your questions. Contact them as you are developing your protocol if there is anything you are unsure of regarding human subjects protection - it may save you a lot of time on revisions! When you are in the field, they can also be a great source of advice for questions that arise.
It is recommended to familiarize yourself with IRB requirements and the submission and review process well before you must submit anything to the IRB. Everything you need can be found here: Yale's Human Research Protection Program.
A few tips to get started:
Think about human subjects protection as soon as you start designing your project - your methods and your treatment of participants go hand in hand.
Talk with your adviser about which of Yale's IRBs - HIC or HSC - you should submit to. If not clearly biomedical research (which goes through HIC), this may be based on your adviser's department (eg qualitative studies of health related phenomena).
Identify the IRB or research review boards at the site you will be conducting research. Talk with your host adviser and others who have done research there to learn how best to work with each IRB. Juggling two (or more!) IRBs can be a challenge as each may have different requirements or even ask for modifications that conflict with requirements of the other. Work in a lot of cushion time to your submissions to allow for all manner of delays, which WILL occur.
Determine if you should apply for exempt status or not - there are clear criteria on the Yale IRB websites, but email them if you are unsure.
Talk with people who have done similar projects and find out how they handled human subjects protection. How did they deal with privacy? Consent? Criteria for study participation? How did they maintain confidentiality and keep their data secure?
A few tips to get started:
Think about human subjects protection as soon as you start designing your project - your methods and your treatment of participants go hand in hand.
Talk with your adviser about which of Yale's IRBs - HIC or HSC - you should submit to. If not clearly biomedical research (which goes through HIC), this may be based on your adviser's department (eg qualitative studies of health related phenomena).
Identify the IRB or research review boards at the site you will be conducting research. Talk with your host adviser and others who have done research there to learn how best to work with each IRB. Juggling two (or more!) IRBs can be a challenge as each may have different requirements or even ask for modifications that conflict with requirements of the other. Work in a lot of cushion time to your submissions to allow for all manner of delays, which WILL occur.
Determine if you should apply for exempt status or not - there are clear criteria on the Yale IRB websites, but email them if you are unsure.
Talk with people who have done similar projects and find out how they handled human subjects protection. How did they deal with privacy? Consent? Criteria for study participation? How did they maintain confidentiality and keep their data secure?