It is important to understand the distinction between illegal and illicit activities as a re搜索er. Illegal activities are, of course, those that are forbidden by law. Illicit activities are considered improper or socially forbidden; they may or may not be illegal but they go against social norms and values. Illicit behavior may actually be unethical, such as cheating on an exam, but it may also simply be behavior that a society disapproves of for (for example) religious reasons that is not in在这里ntly unethical, such as homosexuality in some parts of the US and other countries.

While some illegal and illicit activities are harmless, others are in在这里ntly harmful, such as the use of certain drugs or engaging in some kinds of crime. If you plan to study illicit behavior, you should be prepared to explain to the IRB any ways in which the re搜索 itself could increase either the probability or the magnitude of harm to re搜索 participants, as well as any risk of harm that you yourself could face as the re搜索er. You should also be prepared to explain to the IRB any ways in which the illicit nature of the activities being studied impact the informed consent process or have implications for other key areas of IRB concern (vulnerable populations, 欺骗, 保密, 隐私). You also may need to pay additional attention to data security issues to protect your participants.

在一般情况下, if you are a student re搜索er, you should not be re搜索ing illegal activities for the following reasons:

• You may get caught up in situations that you cannot anticipate that could put you in danger of physical or emotional harm.
• You may get caught up in situations that you cannot anticipate that could put your participants at risk of arrest or legal penalties, or of other kinds of harm.
• You could put yourself at risk of arrest and a possible prison sentence.
• You could put 科罗拉多大学’s reputation at risk.

Re搜索ers have no legal guarantee of 保密 when they study illegal behavior. If a re搜索er collects information about illegal activities, the police may subpoena the re搜索er’s data. A re搜索er who refuses to comply with such a subpoena may face contempt of court and jail time. (因为这个原因, a re搜索er who anticipates that they may collect information about illegal activities as part of a broader study should inform participants about whether the re搜索er will or will not comply with subpoenas for identifying information. In such cases, the re搜索er may request that participants do not reveal any illegal activity.)

T在这里 are two kinds of mandatory reporting of which academic re搜索ers studying certain kinds of illegal and illicit activities should be aware: 第九条-related reporting (related to alleged sexual violence) and other kinds of mandatory reporting based on federal or state laws or institutional policies. If a re搜索er’s role at 科罗拉多大学 makes them a mandatory reporter, they may not be able to carry out their re搜索 while guaranteeing participants 保密. When a mandatory reporter fails to make a report, they may face fines and penalties, 民事责任, and consequences related to violating institutional policies.

Federal information about 第九条 can be found 在这里.

Colorado information about 第九条 can be found 在这里.

科罗拉多大学 information about 第九条 can be found 在这里.

A useful Wikipedia article on mandatory reporting in the US can be found 在这里; it includes helpful links at the bottom.

科罗拉多大学 information about other mandatory reporting can be found 在这里.