Toward the development of a perceived IRB violation scale

This study introduces survey items that can be used to assess the perceived prevalence of specific IRB violations by researchers or to gauge the perceived seriousness of such infractions. Using survey data from tenured and tenure-track faculty at research-intensive universities, the descriptive findings showed that the failure to properly store data and neglecting to maintain project records were perceived to be the most widespread violations by sample members. Although comparatively less definitive, the results also showed that problems with data storage and record keeping were perceived to be relatively serious violations. As for scaling, the results from the exploratory factor analyses showed that the prevalence and seriousness scales were unidimensional. These findings support the practice of providing researchers with services for storing project data and records. Finally, the IRB violation scale developed in this study can be used by research integrity professionals to assess faculty perceptions at their universities.