CITI training
A researcher is conducting a written survey about people's attitudes toward walking as an exercise option at the local shopping mall that supports a walking program. The survey is anonymous (without codes, names, or other information) and subjects may complete the survey and place it in a box at the shopping mall exits. Which of the following is the most important issue that the researcher addressed in planning the research?
Confidentiality of the individual subject's responses
Why do science communication experts recommend that speakers minimize use of jargon, the specialized vocabulary of a field, when talking to public audiences?
Jargon can make it harder for some in the audience to understand what is being said.
Which of the following most accurately describes the risks associated with SBR?
Less predictable, more variable, and less treatable than physical harms
A researcher wants to invite therapists to participate in small focus groups to discuss their perceptions regarding "troubled" adolescent girls and the relationships they have with their parents. Specific clients of the therapists will not be discussed. Which of the following will be the most important issue for the researcher to consider when planning the research?
Breach of confidentiality from the focus group subjects (therapists)
When biomedical researchers communicate with the public, they should
Be careful to avoid overstating the promise of a potential treatment
Which of the following brought increased public attention to the problems with the IRB system?
Death of Research Subject (Jesse Gelsinger)
The National Research Act of 1974
Established the National Commission.
Which statement most accurately describes the "deficit model" of science communication?
Experts provide knowledge to a passive, poorly informed public
Which of the following most accurately describes a case of research misconduct?
Image manipulation that results in fabrication of results
The Belmont Report's principle of respect for persons incorporates at least two ethical convictions: first, that individuals should be treated as autonomous agents, and second, that:
Persons with diminished autonomy are entitled to protection.
Informed consent is considered an application of which Belmont principle?
Respect for Persons
Issued in 1974, 45 CFR 46 raised to regulatory status:
The Nuremberg Code
According to federal regulations, which of the following best describes when expedited review of a new, proposed study may be used by the IRB?
The study involves no more than minimal risk and meets one of the allowable categories of expedited review specified in federal regulations
Science communication experts recommend that written material for non-academic audiences should
Use conversational language, short sentences, and active verbs.
Which of the following is considered a SBR data collection method?
Interviews
Which of the following was the result of the Beecher article?
Realization that ethical abuses are not limited to the Nazi regime
An investigator obtains consent and HIPAA authorization from subjects to review their medical records and HIV status. He plans to go back to the medical record, so the HIV status information is stored along with subject identifiers in a database that he keeps on his laptop computer. His laptop is stolen. This incident constitutes:
A breach of confidentiality
Which of the following is an example of how the principle of beneficence can be applied to a study employing human subjects?
Determining that the study has a maximization of benefits and a minimization of risks.
Research findings from a human clinical trial study on high blood pressure treatments in older adults were just published in a research journal. Figure 1, a box-whisker plot, reports the mean blood pressure levels of the subjects after six weeks of treatment on placebo medication, treatment A, or treatment B. What information is important to include on the box-whisker plot?
Exact p-values to indicate level of statistical significance
How long is an investigator required to keep consent documents, IRB correspondence, and research records?
For a minimum of three years after completion of the study
A 46-year-old man is currently enrolled in a Phase 2 study of a drug for severe diabetic neuropathy. While the study is on-going, a new drug becomes commercially available that may have equal or greater benefit to the subject. The investigator should do which of the following?
Give the subject comprehensive information about the new drug, including its side effects. Discuss the pros and cons of both the investigational drug and the commercially available drug and then allow the subject to decide whether to withdraw from the research to take the new drug.
A general requirement for the informed consent form is that it may not include any exculpatory language. Exculpatory language is that which waives or appears to waive any of the subject's legal rights or releases or appears to release those conducting the research from liability for negligence. Which of the following statements in a consent form is an example of exculpatory language?
I waive any possibility of compensation for injuries that I may receive as a result of participation in this research.
Which is considered the standard way for academic researchers to first disclose new research findings?
In peer-reviewed journals or presentations at professional meetings
IRB continuing review of a greater than minimal risk approved protocol that is currently enrolling subjects must:
Occur at least annually.
The use of prisoners in research is a concern under the Belmont principle of Justice because:
Prisoners may not be used to conduct research that only benefits the larger society
A subject in a clinical research trial experiences a serious, unanticipated adverse drug experience. How should the investigator proceed, with respect to the IRB, after the discovery of the adverse event occurrence?
Report the adverse drug experience in a timely manner, in keeping with the IRB's policies and procedures, using the forms or the mechanism provided by the IRB.
Which of the following are the three principles discussed in the Belmont Report?
Respect for Persons, Beneficence, Justice
Which of the following most accurately describes what researchers are expected to do when working with bitmapped image data?
Retain the original image file and only process a copy of the original data
A journal publisher is informed that a figure published in a recent research article appears to be manipulated. The journal reviews the concern and agrees that the digital image has signs of inappropriate editing including non-linear adjustments. Which of the following most accurately describes an appropriate practice that the author(s) should have performed to avoid this situation?
Seek approval from all authors to show representative results
An elderly gentleman, whose wife is his legally authorized representative (LAR) since his strokes several years ago, was recently diagnosed with lung cancer. He is eligible for a clinical trial using a new investigational drug that aims to treat lung cancer. He is able to express interest, shows a basic understanding of the nature of the trial, and gives his assent to participation. The subject's wife is out of town on a business trip. Which of the following is the most appropriate action to take for the investigator?
Send a copy of the informed consent via facsimile to the subject's wife. After she has had the opportunity to speak to the investigator, she can sign the informed consent and fax it back.
Composite figures are two or more images whose source is separated by time, space, or another dimension. Which of the following is true regarding composite figures?
Should only be used if the demarcation between the images is indicated by white space or a thin line
Research findings from a human clinical trial study on high blood pressure treatments in older adults were just published in a research journal. Figure 1, a box-whisker plot, reports the mean blood pressure levels of the subjects after six weeks of treatment on placebo medication, treatment A, or treatment B. What information is important to include in the legend?
Subject demographic details including age, sex, and race
Amendments involving changes to IRB-approved protocols do NOT need prior IRB approval if:
The changes must be immediately implemented for the health and well-being of the subject.
An investigator is confronted with a life-threatening situation that necessitates using a test article in a human subject who is unable to provide informed consent and there is no time to obtain consent from the individual's LAR and no alternative method or recognized therapy is available. Under the FDA regulations for using test articles, which of the following describes the best course of action for the investigator:
The investigator and an independent physician agree that the situation necessitates the use of the test article. An exception or waiver for informed consent can be made under these circumstances. The IRB will be notified later.
To provide a potential subject with appropriate information in an appropriate manner and allow that person to make an informed decision about participation in research.
The purpose of the Informed Consent process is to ensure human research subjects are provided all of the information necessary to make informed choices about participating in research.
In order to grant a waiver or alteration of the requirements of informed consent, an IRB must find which of the following:
The research could not practicably be carried out without the waiver of consent.
A researcher wants to conduct a secondary analysis using a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) database that was collected by the agency solely for surveillance purposes from 1996-2006. The researcher did not participate in the initial collection of the data. The database is publicly available. The database does not include any identifiers. The IRB makes a determination that the individuals whose records will be reviewed do not meet the federal definition of human subjects. Which of the following considerations was relevant to the IRB's determination that this activity does not constitute research with human subjects?
The researcher will not be interacting/intervening with subjects and the data has no identifiers.
Journals often encourage the use of dot plots and blot-whisker plots because:
These types of graphs more clearly demonstrate data variability
Which of the following is included in the Nuremberg Code:
Voluntary consent
