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Experimental studies are extremely difficult to set up. To collect data about real users on real networks requires extensive amounts of equipment, specialized software for collecting and anonymizing data. Furthermore, it requires organizational permission and assistance to collect data, and human-subjects research clearance from the appropriate institutional review board (IRB).

• IRB at Dartmouth College

At Dartmouth College, we have an experience with the IRB process. To collect extensive amounts of wireless data on Dartmouth’s campus wireless network, we have obtained approval from the IRB.

We archive our anonymized data collection, freely available for use by the research and education community. We require all who use the data to agree to the terms of a data-use statement, called CRAWDAD Data License, which we developed in cooperation with Dartmouth’s IRB. The main purpose of this agreement is to require all users to respect the privacy of those people whose activity is captured in the traces.

In the following link, we introduce Dartmouth’s IRB, known locally as CPHS (the Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects), and provide a sample CPHS application for IRB approval. The application explains the data collected, risks to human subjects, anonymization and data security practices, data-use agreements required by all users of the archive, and well-tested arguments for the safety of the project.

Dartmouth CPHS introduction and a sample application

• Other IRB examples

Symposium On Usable Privacy and Security 2006 ( SOUPS 2006 ) solicited and published proposals of security user studies, which look similar to IRB applications.

[Feel free to add your IRB experiences!]