Blog

15 Vulnerable Populations That Are Easy to Overlook

Jun 17th, 2025
In the early 1990s, members of the Havasupai Tribe gave blood samples to researchers from Arizona State University. They believed the samples would be used solely to study diabetes, a major concern within their community. But without their knowledge or consent, the samples were later used to investigate schizophrenia, inbreeding, and ancient migration patterns—topics that … more »
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Vulnerable Populations and How We Protect Them in Research

Feb 3rd, 2025
Protecting vulnerable populations in research isn’t just the right thing to do—it’s essential for ensuring ethical integrity and credible outcomes. Neglecting these safeguards can lead to significant harm for participants and lasting damage to organizations. Let’s explore who these vulnerable groups are, why they need extra care, and how researchers can implement best practices to … more »
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VIRB

Nov 30th, 2021
Bringing ethical research into action! Hi Everyone! Phil here, and I’m excited to announce a new development at Viable Insights. This summer we took the steps to register Viable Insights as an Institutional Review Board with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This means that we are now able to help you ensure … more »
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Research on Evaluation: It Takes a Village (The Solution)

Apr 9th, 2018
Our first post lamented the poor response rates in research on evaluation. There are many reasons for these poor response rates, but there are also many things that we can do to improve response rates and subsequently improve the state of research on evaluation. How can evaluators improve response rates? Coryn et. al (2016) suggests … more »
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