ETHICAL EVALUATION OF HYPNOSIS RESEARCH - A SURVEY OF INVESTIGATORS AND THEIR INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARDS

We surveyed hypnosis researchers and institutional Review Boards (IRBs ) with regard to the ethical evaluation of research protocols, Researc hers and IRE administrators were independently surveyed within the sam e institutions. Both objective and free response items were used to ad dress substantive issues such as deception and at-risk populations, as well as practical matters such as paperwork. Parallel questions allow ed a point-counterpoint between researchers and IRBs. Overall, the res ults suggest that IRBs do not treat hypnosis research differently than other types of research. We end with recommendations for facilitating interactions between hypnosis researchers and their IRBs.