We quote from an update from the Organization of American Historians:
On
January 19 the federal government issued its final rule governing
Institutional Review Boards (IRB) which "explicitly removes" oral
history and journalism from the Federal Policy for the Protection of
Human Subjects. It was originally promulgated as the "Common Rule" in
1991. The historical community, collaborating through the National
Coalition for History, has long argued that scholarly history projects
should not be subject to standard IRB procedures since they are designed
for the research practices of the sciences. The new rule goes into
effect January 19, 2018.
Here's the
rule.