Princeton University

• Protection of human subjects
• Undergraduate Projects and Personal Matters
• Advice to Undergraduates
• The IRB
• Instructions for Students
• IRB Questionnaire

"Above all, I will do no harm" is a pledge that all anthropologists make when starting research into human lives. The members of the Anthropology Department of Princeton University & including undergraduate and graduate students as well as faculty — must abide by that commitment. To do so requires a constant vigilance, a disciplined imagining of oneself in the places of those who collaborate in one's research project, a continual attempt to foresee the consequences of interviews and public revelation of their content to forestall any harmful effects. Careful and explicit discussion of one's methods and expected end products with all who become involved is necessary so that they can give a genuinely well-informed consent to their participation. They need to know whether or not they are going to be asked to take risks greater than those commonly experienced in everyday life.

However, most cultural anthropological research does not require probing into personal secrets nor interfering with the course of individual lives. The target areas of cultural anthropological research are largely in the public domain, consisting of matters of public although not necessarily general knowledge, as embedded in cultural artifacts, institutions and events. Materials are usually obtained through participant observation and conversations in public situations. Normally discoveries of illegal or immoral individual behavior are irrelevant to the purposes of the research. The common convention of using pseudonyms in all reports on research goes far to protect the anthropologist from inadvertently causing harm to people's reputations.

But, to make doubly sure that no one is hurt, the department makes the following recommendations for undergraduate anthropological research:

1. Do not engage in field research until you have taken the course on research methods, the Ethnographer's Craft, or its equivalent.
2. Discuss your fieldwork plans in detail with your faculty advisor and keep up these discussions throughout your research.
3. At all points, make sure that everyone involved (your "informants," "consultants" and "subjects") understands clearly your purposes, the scope of your research, and its ultimate outcome (e.g., a class paper, a senior thesis) and who will read it. Make sure that everyone knows that you are taking notes on or tape-recording their comments. Never cover up the fact that you are doing research. If your research involves contact with those who cannot really understand what you are doing (for instance, children, elderly, mentally deficient) be sure to get permission to interview from whoever is responsible for them.
4. If working within an institution, such as an eating club, or athletic team, get permission from its highest official. If you want to use your involvement in a summer or academic year work situation, whether paid or voluntary, be sure to get your employer's permission for your research.
5. Take care in interviewing not to probe where you are unwanted, not to needlessly press into personally disturbing subjects.
6. Keep confidential anything that you learn. Do not engage in gossip (even with close friends) about the people you are studying. Do not reveal anything that might embarrass or harm the reputation of anyone that you have spoken with.
7. Keep all your notes out of hands of casual readers. Keep them out of sight, for instance in a locked drawer, if there is anything in them that is confidential.
8. In any written report, use pseudonyms for all the people you have interviewed, and if necessary. eliminate or fictionalize any contextual clues to their identity. You might also use pseudonyms for the names of organizations and places.

To aid university researchers in avoiding harmful practices, a faculty committee reviews all proposed projects, conducted in the university, whether they are faculty, graduate students or undergraduates. This is the Institutional Review Board for Human Subjects. Its members are from all the social sciences plus a university physician and lawyer. Approval of a project by the IRB is required before starting on it. If an undergraduate does not obtain prior approval of any research involving potential harm to persons interviewed or observed, grades may be withheld for the paper or course.

The Institutional Review Board has drawn up a formal set of questions for anthropological research (Questionnaire A, downloadable here). These must be answered in full, and if the IRB requests further information, answered promptly.

The Panel meets once a month, and usually asks for further information from the student, a process that takes a second month. If you submit in October, you may be permitted to conduct research over winter break. If not, you may have to do your research in January or later.

NOTE: Prior to submitting questionnaire A you must be certified for completion of an appropriate training program. See the U.S. National Institutes of Health Web page for detailed information.  (Normally, all students in ANT 301 The Ethnographer's Craft will complete the required training and gain certification as part of the course.) 

Fill out the questionnaire from the Institutional Review Board and take it to your advisor for review and signature before you make copies for submission to the IRB. When you are ready to complete the questionnaire, download a blank form from the IRB's Web site.