Institutional Review Board Guidelines
I. Introduction
The material contained herein is intended to assist St. Ambrose University faculty and staff in complying with the policies and procedures governing review of research involving human participants. It is the responsibility of the principal investigators to inform themselves about the requirements of the review process and to present the material in good order.
II. Policy Declaration
It is the policy of the University that no research conducted under the jurisdiction of the University exposes persons who participate as subjects or respondents to unreasonable risks to their health, general well-being, or privacy. Further it is the policy of the University that no research conducted under its jurisdiction should be contrary to the mission of the institution.
Specifically, the University is concerned that in all research, development, and related activities involving the use of human subjects:
- the rights and welfare of the individuals involved are adequately protected:
- the participation of subjects is based on freely given informed consent; and the individual is free to withdraw consent and discontinue participation at any time without loss of benefits or other negative consequences.
- The risks to the subject are reasonable in relation to anticipated benefits to the subject and the importance of the knowledge to be gained as to warrant a decision to allow the subject to accept these risks.
Therefore all research activities involving the use of human subjects are submitted for prior review by the University Institutional Review Board to (1) insure that the above conditions are met, and (2) encourage and promote a high level of campus awareness and communication regarding University research projects.
Primary responsibility for assuring that the rights and welfare of the individuals involved are protected continues to rest with the principal investigators conducting research involving the use of human subjects. This responsibility is shared by others engaged in the conduct of the research. Faculty or staff who assign or supervise research conducted by students have an obligation to consider carefully whether those students are qualified to safeguard adequately the rights and welfare of subjects.
II. Procedures
All members of the St. Ambrose University (faculty, staff, students) who wish to do research involving human subjects are to complete an explanation of their intended research (using either the "exempt" or "non exempt" forms, as applicable) and submit it for review to the Institutional Review Board. The Board will then determine whether or not the research meets university policy guidelines. It is the researcher’s responsibility to submit this information to the committee prior to conducting research, including pilot studies. Faculty who intend to conduct research in their classrooms with their students should submit these forms prior to beginning that research. Projects are approved for a one (1) year period. Researchers are required to submit a status report either upon completion of a project, or within one year of approval, whichever comes first. Ongoing projects require annual submission of a status report.
The Board usually meets twice a month during the Fall and Spring semesters,
plus one meeting during the Summer. Proposals for review should be submitted to
Maryann Striegel in the Assessment and Institutional Research Office at least one week prior to the meeting date. See the Institutional Research Board Meeting Dates page for more details.
More questions ??? See our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page - or contact the IRB Chair!
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