Date & Location
Sunday, October 1, 2023, 7:00 AM - Wednesday, October 1, 2025, 12:00 AM

Course Overview
Intended for researchers in the social and behavioral sciences, as well as IRB members and staff, this course provides an overview of ethical principles and federal regulations that govern research in these fields. Learners will review the rationale for regulating social and behavioral research, as well as landmark studies that have raised ethical questions. Other topics include:

  • Social and behavioral science under the Common Rule.
  • Ethics and regulation of ethnographic studies and studies that involve deception.
  • Privacy and confidentiality.

This course can be taken alone, or it can serve as a supplement to Ethics of Research with Human Subjects.

Content Last Reviewed: February 20, 2024


Target Audience
Specialties - ALL SPECIALTIES

Learning Objectives

After completing this activity, participants should be able to:


  1. Summarize the rationals for regulating social and behavioral research
  2. Explain how social and behavioral research is regulated under the Common Rule
  3. Explain privacy and confidentiality considerations in social and behavioral research
  4. Outline ethical and regulatory issues specific to ethnographic studies and studies that involve deception

Registration
There is no registration fee but you are still required to register. 

In this activity, learners will engage with the content by moving through a series of brief video lectures with links to related readings, downloadable resources, and quizzes.

The Structure of the Course
• Why Regulate Social and Behavioral Research? (9:17)
• Social and Behavioral Research Under the Common Rule (11:39)
• Ethical Issues in Ethnographic Research (8:31)
• Deception in Research (9:29)
• Privacy and Confidentiality (8:13)

Each lecture includes a list of suggested readings that provide more detail about what was discussed. Links to external readings will lead you to an abstract or, if available, the full article.

Note that closed captions are available for all video segments.

Successful completion of this educational activity and receipt of certificate of credit includes achieving a minimum score of 90% on the post-test.

Accreditation
In support of improving patient care, Penn Medicine is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.  
 
Designation of Credit
Physicians: Penn Medicine designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
 
ABIM MOC: Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 1.25 MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. Participants will earn MOC points equivalent to the amount of CME credits claimed for the activity. It is the CME activity provider’s responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.

Nurses: This program provides 1.25 NCPD hours.

Credits
AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ (1.25 hours), ABIM MOC Part 2 (1.25 hours), NCPD Hours (ANCC) (1.25 hours), Non-Physician Attendance / Participation (1.25 hours)