LINGUIST List 3.372

Tue 28 Apr 1992

Disc: Chomsky, Human Subjects

Editor for this issue: <>

Directory

1. , Chomsky's Citations
2. , Re: 3.358 Queries: Binding, Bible, Human Subjects, Gapping
3. Frances Ingemann, Re: 3.358 Queries: Binding, Bible, Human Subjects, Gapping

I have received an avalanche of responses to my brief posting
which asked, very simply, how can it be, if Chomsky is one
of the most cited authors in history, that virtually no one
I meet knows ANYTHING about linguistics (other than that it
is the profession pursued by people, usually working for the
Army, who speak foreign languages!). My point was simply to
question the validity of the original claim that these large
numbers of citations reveal a unique influence on social sciences
and perhaps on society generally. It would be interesting to
know how widely cited are such people as Copernicus, Galileo,
Einstein, Margaret Mead, etc., whose ideas seem intuitively
to have been much more influential.

Message 2: Re: 3.358 Queries: Binding, Bible, Human Subjects, Gapping

In regard to the query about filing human subject protocols for a dissertation,
I believe this is standard practice. But the sort of data collection that
is done in linguistics mostly falls under what is called here at Minnesota,
an "expedited review". That is, because there is essentially no risk, your
research proposal can get quickly reviewed and no doubt approved. But the
Committee does want to and expect to see it. I am teaching a course on
discourse analysis this quarter and because I am requiring students to
collect tape recordings of conversations, I need to file a protocol that
approves of the students collecting this work. My description of the
data gathering included a typical consent form, which was to be given to
all who participated in the taping. (Typical = prototype). This protocol
was reviewed expeditiously, and I was told that while courses can get
a blanket approval, individual projects at the dissertation level
need individual approval. You might also ask your Human Suibjects
Committee if they have a procedure in which departments file their
own protocol in which routine sorts of projects are covered, which
can spare individual students and faculty in the dept. from having
to go through the process of writing for permission everytime they
do a study that would be covered under the dept. protocol. Department
protocols might eliminate or expedite the review process for individual
studies.
Amy Sheldon
asheldonumnacvx
asheldonvx.acs.umn.edu

Message 3: Re: 3.358 Queries: Binding, Bible, Human Subjects, Gapping

Re: Experimentation on Human Subjects

The University of Kansas requires all research using human subjects to
be approved by a university committee. Linguistic research is routinely
approved but we do have to go through the formalities of informing the
subject of the nature of the work and the right to refuse to participate.
Unless the research might cause the subject harm (radiation from x-rays,
violation of privacy, etc.), no penalties are imposed for a one-time
failure to seek permission. However, continued failure to do so after
having been informed of the regulation could result in sanctions for
academic misconduct.