Research with human participants in other countries must comply with both U.S. and international ethical standards, and may require additional consideration for international participants' rights and welfare within different cultural contexts and local regulations.
Research conducted by Cornell faculty, students and staff in foreign countries must be reviewed and approved by the Cornell IRB. In addition to Cornell IRB approval, some international research must also be approved by the local equivalent of an IRB. Where there is no equivalent board or committee, researchers should work with local NGOs, researchers or community leaders to ensure that the project is consistent with cultural and legal expectations, and to secure support for the conduct of the research. As part of its review, the Cornell IRB will require a letter demonstrating support from an appropriate local body, organization or individual who will cooperate with and support the researcher. Researchers are urged to plan for the additional time that will be needed to obtain and document local support and review, and for the Cornell IRB to then review these important documents. Please see IRB Policy: International Human Research for more information.
Both the U.S. and host country standards for protecting human participants must be respected through the IRB review and approval process and the conduct of the research. Where the two sets of standards present a conflict, the research must meet the higher standard. In particular, while we do not impose our standards for written documentation on other cultures, we do not relax our standards for ethical conduct of research or for a meaningful consent and/or assent process, including ensuring additional protections for vulnerable participant populations (e.g., children, prisoners).
Due to U.S. export regulations, Cornell researchers cannot send money or provide other transactions of value (e.g., gift cards, presents) to study participants in any of these locations: Cuba, certain regions of Ukraine, Iran, North Korea, and Syria.