Final answer:
IRBs play a vital role in the ethical oversight of research involving human subjects, focusing on informed consent, participant safety, and confidentiality. Exempt research still requires an IRB review to ensure compliance with ethical guidelines.
Step-by-step explanation:
Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) are essential in overseeing research involving human subjects. An IRB is a committee that contains administrators, scientists, and community members. Its purpose is to ensure research is conducted in an ethical manner, adhering to federal regulations which protect human participants.
The key aspects they look at include minimizing risks to participants, ensuring informed consent, and maintaining participant confidentiality. Research deemed exempt is that which involves minimal risk to participants and falls under specific categories identified by regulation.
While the review of exempt research might be less comprehensive compared to non-exempt research, it nonetheless requires review by the IRB to ensure all guidelines and ethical considerations are met.