About This Guide

Overview

This guide addresses four main questions:

1. Why do human subjects need to be protected and what federal regulations are in place to protect them?
2. What activities constitute research that may be subject to federal law?
3. What is an Institutional Review Board and how does it work?
4. What forms can be used to protect the privacy and confidentiality of human subjects?

This guide concludes with a discussion of other important considerations to keep in mind when conducting research activities that involve human subjects. It also includes a resources section with a list of additional resources available to assist you in this endeavor and a glossary of key terms and appendixes that include sample documents.

How To Use the Guide

You may use this guide along with the other guides in this series to help you develop and conduct a needs assessment or program evaluation:

• Guide to Performance Measurement and Program Evaluation
• Guide to Conducting a Needs Assessment
• Guide to Hiring a Local Evaluator