In a World...of IRB Requirements

March 9th, 2022

Meeting the standards. Or at least trying to.

The McNair program has given me a vast amount of wonderful opportunities. Most of them are related to graduate school information or the general concept of goal making and timeline construction. I find myself often at a median of excitement and anxiety about one activity in particular: the conduction of a research study. Aside from that, I complete other typical learning seminar requirements of reading analyses, and attending or commenting on guest lectures. Most other things aren't as typical in the track of this program for me.

The enigma of an art student

I've found myself to be a bit of a unicorn within my section of the program. Typically the graduate school track is more attuned to the natures of those more scientifically, and mathematically inclined. The way I do things for my graduate school preparation is a bit abnormal. First of all, I learned GREs aren't necessarily required at MFA programs in art graduate schools. Secondly, while there are forms of research based in quantifiable realms, this is often either found through the chemical and engineering side of photography or the psychological one. Obviously, both would be beneficial to eventual applications, but another big part of almost any art graduate program application is the portfolio review.

To IRB or not IRB? That is the question

My research project, while being about the discovery and study of underrepresented peoples in the photographic industry, ends up to be a multi-month long portfolio addition. However, the keyword there is "people." That word prompts another set of steps to take to being able to conduct research. HSR (Human Subject Research) training is the first of those steps. This glorious training is 7 to 10 hours long with 12 modules and 12 comprehension quizzes based on government statutes for human subject use in research. In addition to this, there is also the IRB (Institutional Review Board) approval process. The IRB review includes approval of the study and its use of human subjects as well as the auditing of the project. This ensures informed consent of participants and the ethical treatment of subjects and their personal information.

I'm personally not enthusiastic about accomplishing that task, but I'm starting to. I am currently procrastinating my first of many drafts to gain approval for my project. In the end, I may be worried for nothing. Letting my anxiety get the best of me, but it will eventually be another form of positive growth for my eventual commitment to the academic world and its wonders.