Institutional Power and the Institutional Review Board: Silencing the Other in International Fieldwork

• In Event: Accountability Across Borders

Abstract

Since its inception, the university institutional review board has been criticized for being out of touch with research protocol in education and the social sciences. In this study we examine the compatibility of IRB requirements and approval when conducting research in non-Western cultures. In particularly we examine how Chile and Costa Rica have implemented their own review systems and view the protection of human subjects. Findings suggest that while review board guidelines in these countries have been copied directly from US institutions, there are drastic differences in interpretation and implementation.

Authors

• Steven Locke, University of Wyoming

• Carlos J. Ovando, Arizona State University

• Carmen Montecinos, Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso