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Deception of the participants in a research study can lead to error, bias, misleading assumptions, and non-generalizability, and adversely influence the outcome of the research findings. According to the Belmont Report of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2018), the university's IRB exists to ensure compliance with federal regulations and guidelines for conducting research involving human subjects and participants. As such, the justification of deception of the participants to the institutional review board, the research will ensure that the IRB application form explains the participants’ rights, how primary data will be collected from the participants, who and where the participants are located, and a brief description of the participants’ expectations.

Other justifications include a description of data collection technique (face-to-face interview, online survey, and onsite survey), the degree, or magnitude of risk/stress (physical, psychological, emotional, legal, and financial) to the participants, the involvement of any protected groups (children, prisoners, pregnant women, educationally or economically disadvantaged, subject) recruitment and selection.

These justifications will enable the IRB to examine any potential issues that may arise during the study and assist the research in mitigating ethical challenges. The IRB approves research projects that meet the federal definition for research and human subjects before any data collection begins, and based on the IRB application and supporting documents, the IRB may approve the request with or without modification(s).

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