Acronym for Institutional Review Board, a committee that reviews research involving human subjects for ethical compliance.
Formed in the 1970s from the initial letters of 'Institutional Review Board.' These boards were established following ethical scandals in medical research, particularly after the Nuremberg trials and incidents like the Tuskegee experiment.
IRBs exist because of horrific historical medical experiments - they're the ethical guardians ensuring research participants are protected and informed. Every university study involving humans, from psychology surveys to medical trials, must pass IRB scrutiny first!
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