Final answer:
An Institutional Review Board (IRB) reviews research to ensure it adheres to ethical guidelines, mainly focused on safeguarding human participants through informed consent and risk minimization.
Step-by-step explanation:
Before a research study can be initiated, especially one involving human participants, it must be evaluated by an Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB is tasked with ensuring that the research adheres to strict ethical guidelines designed to safeguard human dignity and safety. Specifically, they ensure that the research is conducted in an ethical manner by assessing aspects such as risk minimization, benefit projection, the process of obtaining informed consent, and the protection of participant confidentiality.
The correct answer to the question 'Before you can run your research, an IRB reviews your research to make sure that:' is d) The research adheres to ethical guidelines. Adequate participant payment or publication in a reputable journal, while important, are not the primary concerns of the IRB. Their main purpose is to review research proposals concerning human participants to ensure ethical conduct, participant safety, and adherence to federal regulations and institutional policies.