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IN THIS IRB NEWSLETTER: Understanding the Policy on Privacy in Research: An interview with Alexis Goltra Request for Feedback: Drop-In hours and IRB 101/IRB Topics Zoom Changes New Guidance: Preventing Bots and Fraudulent Responses in Online Studies Husky Tip: Make Sure your Submission is Review-Ready Upcoming Events and Training | |
Understanding the Policy on Privacy in Research: An interview with Alexis Goltra We recently interviewed Alexis Goltra about Northeastern’s Policy on Privacy in Research (Policy 127) which was published in January 2026. As NU’s Chief Privacy Officer and Senior Privacy Attorney, Alexis Goltra is responsible for overseeing the university’s global privacy and data protection compliance program. In the interview, Alexis shares his expertise and draws on that experience to break down how Policy 127 helps researchers comply with global privacy laws and data protection requirements while offering practical guidance that is straightforward to implement in the research setting. | |
Request for Feedback: Drop-In hours and IRB 101/IRB Topics We’d love to hear from you about our educational offerings, so we put together a short 4-question survey to gather your feedback. Over the past year, we’ve hosted 185 drop-in hours and met with 400+ researchers during those sessions. As we continue to expand and improve these offerings, we’d love your feedback. Your input will help us better understand what topics, formats, and resources you would find most valuable during our Drop-In Hours and IRB 101/IRB Topics sessions moving forward. Find our short feedback survey here. As always, please be sure to visit our Calendar of Events for the most up-to-date educational offerings, including drop-in hours, as well as details on how to join each session. Please note that we will be switching from Zoom to Teams effective August 10th. The Teams link will be on the calendar. | |
Zoom Changes We understand that changes to Zoom may affect how some research teams conduct their studies. If your study procedures will change as a result of moving to a different platform, please note the following:
For any questions about the change beyond how to modify your IRB study, please submit an IT service ticket. If you have questions about the Zoom transition that are not related to how to submit a modification to your IRB study, please submit an IT Service Desk ticket. | |
New Guidance: Preventing Bots and Fraudulent Responses in Online Studies Recruiting participants through online platforms offers efficiency and broad reach, but it also increases the risk of fraudulent survey responses from automated bots and human bad actors. These responses can undermine data integrity, render datasets unusable, and complicate participant compensation. Preventing bots and other bad actors often requires planning and implementing multiple strategies. This guidance outlines common warning signs, practical steps to mitigate fraudulent responses, and how to respond if a study is affected after it goes live. Find the guidance on Preventing Bots and Fraudulent Responses in Online Studies here | |
Husky Tip: Make Sure your Submission is Review-Ready Our practice is to conduct an administrative pre-review of all submissions before they are assigned for IRB review. Submissions that are not review-ready will be returned to the research team before the IRB review begins. This helps ensure reviewers receive complete, consistent applications and allows them to focus on the substantive ethical and regulatory aspects of the proposed research. How can you prepare a review-ready submission? You can also use AI tools to help identify missing materials or sections that are incomplete. See Leveraging AI for Easier IRB Submissions. Questions? | |
Upcoming Events and Training Our Summer schedule of IRB 101 and IRB Topics is now available. Summer is typically a lighter season for educational programming, but we look forward to expanding our offerings during the fall semester. As always, please be sure to visit our Calendar of Events for the most up-to-date educational offerings, including drop-in hours, as well as details on how to join each session. | |
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