Withholding Study Purpose
From The Embassy of Good Science
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Withholding Study Purpose
What is this about?
A researcher wants to test an intervention to prevent child abuse among pregnant women in drug treatment programs but feels that revealing the true aim of the intervention may upset women already in difficult life circumstances (and limit enrollment). She asks her institution’s IRB for permission to tell potential participants that the study is a parenting skills development rather than child abuse prevention program.
