I'm currently finishing my Ph.D. in General Psychology at Capella University. Capella's on the quarter system rather than the semester system, so we start back tomorrow. Since the college I teach at doesn't go back until January 14th (well faculty report the 14th, classes start the 22nd) I'm excited to have a week of being able to just work on course work this time around.
So what are my goals for this quarter? First, I have to re-do my ethics training which is an on-line module we have to go through to document our learning about research ethics. It expires after a year, and mine expires in March so I want to get it done before it expires. Once I complete that, I'll submit my Institutional Review Board (IRB) application for the site where I want to gather my data. IRBs review how you propose to gather your data and your treatment of participants for ethical issues. We also need to have IRB approval from Capella, and my IRB application is being reviewed by my research Mentor. Once he reviews it and OKs it, I'll submit it to the Capella IRB and wait for their feedback.
Once I have IRB approval from both places, I'll be able to start gathering my data. My ultimate goal for the quarter, pending IRB approval, is to get my data gathered this quarter. Wish me luck and IRB speed!
