Research Ethics and Institutional Review Board | 2026-27 Academic Catalog

All research conducted under the auspices of Meridian that entails human subjects, including research intended only for classroom use, needs to follow legal and ethical guidelines for the protection of human subjects. These guidelines are discussed at length in the Dissertation Handbook (for the Psychology and Education programs), the Clinical Case Study Handbook (for the Psychology Program), and the Creative Action Project Manual (for the Education and Business programs). These guidelines emphasize informing research participants of their rights, ensuring that participants freely give their consent to participate, and obtaining participants’ written consent via the Informed Consent form.The necessity for protecting human subjects extends beyond the research participants involved in the dissertation study and the subject-client of the clinical case study. Rather, this necessity extends to any and all human subjects involved in course assignments. For example, if a written assignment involves the student interviewing others, the interviewees must be informed of their rights to anonymity (via the use of pseudonyms) and of their right to discontinue the interview at any time. Depending on the nature of the interview, it might even be appropriate for the interviewee to sign a consent form; the format for these forms can be adapted from the template Informed Consent forms located in Meridian’s Dissertation Handbooks (Psychology and Leadership); Clinical Case Study Handbook (Psychology); and the Creative Action Project Manuals (Business and Leadership).Students should contact their course faculty for any concerns or questions that arise in conducting interviews entailing human subjects. If the faculty is unclear, they will consult with the Doctoral Project Committee which reviews and approves students’ work on doctoral projects and serves in an oversight capacity for faculty research. This committee carries out the function of an Institutional Review Board in the work of ensuring the protection and rights of human subjects.