What is the purpose of an IRB and common elements of an ethical review?

• A. The IRB protects animal welfare
• B. The IRB approves all research without review
• C. The IRB protects human participants; common elements include risk assessment, informed consent, confidentiality, and data handling plans
• D. The IRB reviews institutional compliance with local, state, and federal regulations

Answer: (C)

The purpose is to safeguard people who participate in research by having a committee review proposed studies to ensure risks are minimized and participants’ rights and welfare are protected. The elements listed—assessing and minimizing risk, obtaining informed consent, protecting confidentiality, and planning data handling—are the concrete ways ethical review puts those protections into practice. Risk assessment makes sure potential harms are identified and mitigated. Informed consent ensures participants know what they’re agreeing to and can decide autonomously. Confidentiality and data handling plans protect privacy and control who can access data, how it’s stored, and how it’s shared. The other options miss this focus: one refers to animal research oversight, another implies universal approval without review, and the last points to broader institutional compliance rather than protection of human subjects in research.