Ethical and practical solutions for evaluation subjects: Protecting human subjects

With the line between research and evaluation blurring, more ISE projects are employing evaluation and must now meet formal requirements for protecting human subjects. What ethical and legal considerations do you need to take into account in order to evaluate the effectiveness of your work in informal science education? What steps should you take to deal with the federal government’s requirements? In this workshop, we will discuss a range of topics related to these requirements and how PIs can effectively address them. By reviewing different evaluation scenarios, participants will consider the ethical tensions that commonly emerge in informal learning environments. For example, how can we adequately protect the privacy of visitors, participants, or viewers while still capturing the details of their interactions? How can we obtain informed consent to participate without disrupting the experience in the free-choice learning setting? Participants will leave the workshop with an understanding of when and how to apply the federal guidelines for the protection of human subjects and how to work well with IRBs.

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