PRIM&R | Frequently Asked Questions

I am not sure how to navigate the Knowledge Center. Can you show me how?
Of course! To help you navigate the Knowledge Center and to demonstrate this section of our website’s unique features, we have created a video tutorial on the Knowledge Center. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please use the Commenting and Connecting page to reach out to us.

I have questions about a resource on the Knowledge Center and would like to engage in a discussion on those questions. How can I do that?
The Knowledge Center is filled with rich resources. As you peruse, you might find yourself eager to speak with your colleagues about something you discover, or to ask a question.. To help you engage in such dialogue, we have created our Commenting and Connecting page. This page provides links to key communities and forums in the world of research ethics. We encourage you to utilize these links to keep the conversation going. You will also find information on this page regarding who to contact at PRIM&R if you have a question about using or navigating the Knowledge Center.

What is the rating function? How can I rate a resource?
In order to make the Knowledge Center a dynamic resource that is reflective of our users, we have included a rating feature for each item contained in the Knowledge Center. You can rate how good or useful you think an item by clicking on the number of stars you would like to give that item. The highest possible rating is five stars, while the lowest is one star. To learn how to rate an item, please view our online tutorial. The rating for a particular item is indicated by the number of stars, with the number of ratings that comprise the overall rating listed in parentheses. We hope that this system of peer review will help you navigate through the many resources that comprise the Knowledge Center.

What are the icons at the bottom of each content entry?
As you may have noticed, there are three icons located at the bottom of each content entry. The first icon is a yellow square with the letters KC inside of it. This icon can be used to quickly navigate back to the Knowledge Center home page. The second icon is a speech bubble. This icon provides a convenient link to our Commenting and Connecting page. Finally, the third icon, which is a lowercase “i” in a circle, brings you to this page—our list of Frequently Asked Questions!

Is the search bar in the Knowledge Center different than the search bar located on your website header?
The Knowledge Center search bar allows you to search the resources that are available within the Knowledge Center. It does not allow you to search the materials that are available elsewhere in PRIM&R’s website. One unique feature of the search functionality in the Knowledge Center is the ability to search specific sections of the Knowledge Center. For instance, if you are interested only in finding recent articles on informed consent, the dropdown menu on the Knowledge Center search bar will allow you to limit your search to only the Research Ethics Publications section. For a demonstration of how this works, please take a moment to view our online tutorial.

Workplace Tools

Where did you find all of the templates, forms, and guidance documents that are listed? How did you choose which were included?
The materials available in the Workplace Tools section are examples of forms, templates, policies, and procedures that are freely available on the internet. In collecting these materials, our goal was to provide our members with a diverse array of documents, covering many of the topics and issues that research ethics professionals struggle with. We aimed to provide examples from institutions as varied as our membership to allow you, our user, to seek out the materials that best reflect the type of institution in which you work. We hope that you will find these materials useful as you guide your own institution’s policies and procedures, and we encourage you to use the rating feature to help highlight the forms you find the most useful.

My institution has some forms that I think would be helpful to others in the field. How can I have those included in the Knowledge Center?
If you have an outstanding form, a great template, or a fantastic procedure that you would like to share with your peers in the field, we would love to hear about it! Please reach out to us by using our Commenting and Connecting page.

I would like to suggest the inclusion of more forms on a specific topic. Who can I talk to about this?
We love suggestions! The Knowledge Center is intended to be a resource driven by the needs and desires of our audience, so we welcome your input on what we should include and/or expand. Please use the Commenting and Connecting page to reach out to us, and let us know what type of forms you would like to see in the Workplace Tools section.

I would like my organization to be listed under Relevant Organizations. How can I have those included in the Knowledge Center?
If you are interested in having your institution listed in the Relevant Organizations section, feel free to reach out to us using our Commenting and Connecting page. Please include a link to your organization’s website, a brief description of the organization, and one sentence explaining why it is relevant to the PRIM&R community.

Research Ethics Publications

I am looking for an article that comes out quarterly, but the Research Ethics Publication section only lists articles by month. How can I find the article I’m looking for?
In order to maintain a consistent date format, the publication dates for quarterly, bimonthly, and monthly publications have been converted to a standard month/day/year format. Monthly publications are listed as the first day of the month of publication, while bimonthly publications are listed as the first day of the two-month period for which the journal spans. For example, a publication with an issue date of March-April 2012 would be listed as 03/01/2012. Quarterly publications are listed as the first day in the season for that issue. For example, a Summer 2012 publication would be listed as 06/1/2012.

How do you classify whether a source is a scholarly journal, popular media, or an organizational publication?
By and large, we try to adhere to a publication’s own classification. For instance, Nature refers to itself as a journal, so articles from that publication can be found under the scholarly journals section, while the Chronicle for Higher Education lists itself as a newspaper, so articles from that publication are under popular media. Blogs are also found under the popular media section. Finally, organizational publications consist of those reports and other documents that are directly released by an organization and/or institution.

How far back does this section retain articles and resources?
The amount of time articles are retained depends on the type of article. Popular Media articles are retained for six months (unless they relate to a significant story that remains ongoing in the media), while scholarly journal articles and organizational publications are retained based on date of publication and relevance to the field. Typically, articles in these two categories are retained for at least one year.

I would like to suggest an article. How can I do that?
We love suggestions! The Knowledge Center is intended to be a resource driven by the needs and desires of our audience, so we welcome your input on what we should include and/or expand. Please use the Commenting and Connecting page to reach out to us, and let us know what you would like to see in the Research Ethics Publications section.

What are the bibliographies? Where do these listing of books come from? The bibliographies are listings of books on research ethics that PRIM&R has in our own library. We maintain two versions of this list—one for animal care and use, and one for human subject protections—to serve as a resource for professionals in the field who are looking for a listing of relevant texts. The bibliography is updated annually with new additions to the PRIM&R library. The updated version of the animal care and use bibliography is not presently available; however, we anticipate that an updated version will be posted by early June.

PRIM&Rpedia

Why do some entries only have the acronym definition, while others have a glossary or encyclopedia entry?
The Knowledge Center is a work in progress, and we will be adding to it continuously. We included in our original encyclopedia and glossary entries the terms we thought would be most relevant and helpful to professionals working in the research oversight fields. For items that are commonly referenced only by the use of an acronym, we included the full definition to help individuals new to the field or unfamiliar with the term advance their understanding. We welcome input from our users on which entries we should expand or add in the future. Please visit our Commenting and Connecting page to let us know what you would like to see next in the PRIM&Rpedia.

I would like to suggest another entry that is not currently listed. How can I do that?
We love suggestions! The Knowledge Center is intended to be a resource driven by the needs and desires of our audience, so we welcome your input on what we should include and/or expand.. Please use the Commenting and Connecting page to reach out to us, and let us know what you would like to see next in the PRIM&Rpedia.

I noticed something that is inaccurate in one of the entries. Who can I contact about that?
Please contact us using our Commenting and Connecting page to let us know our concern and we will do our best to address it promptly.

PRIM&R Program Archives

I am looking for a webinar that PRIM&R held recently. But, I can’t find it listed in the Knowledge Center. Where is it?
Archives for webinars that occurred over one calendar year ago are included in the Knowledge Center; more recent webinar archives are still subject to access fees. If you would like to purchase a webinar archive that is not available below, please download this form. You can find more information about our webinars by visiting the program page in the Webinars section of our website. Please note that webinar recaps, or written summaries of the webinar, are available on the Knowledge Center as soon as they become available.

Can I receive credit for watching a webinar archive in the Knowledge Center?
Certificates of attendance are available to those individuals who watch webinar archives. Such certificates are useful for obtaining continuing education (CE) credits (not Continuing Medical Education credits) from professional associations and as supporting documentation for CIP^® or CPIA^® recertification by CE. Guidelines concerning CE credits may differ, and you should consult the appropriate professional association representative for further guidance. Please note that complimentary access to webinar archives is an individual member benefit, so a certificate of attendance for any webinar posted in the Knowledge Center will only be issued to individuals with an active PRIM&R membership. To obtain a certificate of attendance, please email the title(s) of the webinar(s) that you viewed to webinars@primr.org. Once your membership status has been confirmed, a certificate of attendance will be emailed to you.

What are the poster abstracts? What are their purpose?
Each year, PRIM&R hosts poster presentations at our two annual conferences: the Advancing Ethical Research (AER) Conference and the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) Conference. These presentations are intended to promote interdisciplinary sharing and collaboration, as well as facilitate the exchange of ideas, information, and practical strategies for managing the many challenges HRPP and IACUC professionals face. The Knowledge Center contains a rich archive of the poster abstracts that were selected for a panel, workshop, or moderated session at our conferences over the past ten years. If you are interested in viewing all abstracts selected for poster presentation, you can do so here. As you begin to embark on a project or consider starting a new initiative at your institution, use this as a starting place to see what your peers in the field have been doing.

What is included in the Talks and Presentations section?
From conferences and webinars to special lecture series, the Talks and Presentations section of the Knowledge Center provides users with immediate access to some of the lively, innovative, and inspiring presentations that PRIM&R has hosted. Some of the presentations are audio only, while others also contain video. This section is frequently updated, and new presentations will be added as they become available. Presentations from our annual conferences will be available here beginning one year after the conference date.

What are the Workload and Salary Surveys?
PRIM&R’s Workload and Salary Surveys generate valuable information for our members on workload, salaries, staffing patterns, resource management, and professional advancement at various institutions. The results of these surveys provide insight into the trends and opportunities in the field of research ethics. PRIM&R sponsors two different versions of a Workload and Salary Survey, one geared toward professionals who work primarily with institutional review boards, and one for those who work primarily with institutional animal care and use committees.