Assessing Risk

Human subject research risks fall into these categories:

Invasion of Privacy

This could include information you accessed or collected without your participants’ consent or knowledge, or revealing a participant’s identity when you said you wouldn’t share that information with anyone.

Example: Are you interviewing drug users about addiction? Make sure you don’t share your participant list or leave it in an unsafe place where people can see it!

Breach of Confidentiality

This is a release of data that could compromise or adversely affect a participant outside of your research study. These can impact your participants’ psychological, social, or economic status.

Example: Are you conducting a survey that asks for participants’ sexual orientation? Could they lose their job if their employer found out they said they were gay? If you said you wouldn’t release data linking participants to answers, don't do it!

Study Procedures

Sometimes just participating in a study puts your human subjects at risk.

Example: Are you interviewing veterans about the long-term effects of PTSD? Make sure they know your questions could trigger them so they are free to decline participation if they think they could be harmed.

Physical Risks

This could include discomfort, pain, illness, injury, or disease.

Example: Are you collecting blood or tissue samples from your participants? You could hurt them!

Psychological & Social Risks

These potential negative impacts can range from embarrassment and humiliation to anxiety, depression, and even shock.

Example: Are you interviewing nurses about medical mistakes? Even if they weren’t directly responsible, discussing these events could trigger strong emotions among your participants – especially when they consider the impacts on patients, or on their own careers!

Institutional Review Board (IRB)