The purpose of an IRB review is to determine whether participants in a research study will be placed at physical or mental risk, as well as to determine what risk is involved, and to certify that the following conditions have been met.

1. Risks to participants are minimized.
2. Participants in the study (and their guardians) are fully aware of the risks and that individuals may withdraw from the study at any time without any form of penalty.
3. Research activities, designed to yield fruitful results for the benefit of individual participants or society in general, may incur risks to the participants provided such risks are outweighed by the benefit to be derived from those activities.
4. Risks to the participants are so outweighed by the sum of the benefits to the participants and the importance of the knowledge to be gained as to warrant a decision to allow the participants to accept these risks voluntarily.
5. The degree of risk involved in any activity should never exceed the humanitarian importance of the problems to be solved by that activity. Likewise, compensation to volunteers should never be such as to constitute an undue inducement to the participants.
6. Rights and welfare of any such participants will be adequately protected.
7. Legally effective informed consent will be obtained by adequate and appropriate methods in accordance with the provisions of Westcliff University IRB Guide.
8. Stored data or other information obtained for a different purpose is used within the scope of the original consent.

IRB must review all dissertation research. The IRB will determine if the proposed research is
exempt or needs to be further evaluated.

Dissertation students should submit an application after a successful proposal defense. Refer to your faculty chair for assistance. The application must be submitted, and certification must be granted prior to participant recruitment and data collection begins.

The IRB shall review and have authority to approve, require modifications (to secure approval), or disapprove any research activity covered by this policy, including exempt research.

Subsequent review times should match Initial Reviews (A full board will need to be
convened for a full board and all information is reviewed again, etc.).

All applications can be revised based on feedback. Appeals will follow IRB Standard Operating Procedures.

IRB certification is typically valid for one year. It is the responsibility of the principal investigator to request an extension of certification in a timely manner.

Yes, IRB will need to determine the level of identifiable data that will be collected from participants and the sensitivity of the questions that will be asked.

Yes. Although your research may be completed using a database that is publicly available that does not mean the data is available for research purposes. It is the researcher’s responsibility to determine the user restrictions and obtain permissions as appropriate.

Most class assignments do not fall within the definition of research, because the focus is on gathering information for journalistic/educational purposes as opposed to collecting data for a research project that may lead to research publication or presentation.

On the contrary, some research conducted by students as part of their class assignments as well as class research conducted by professors in their work with students may be subject to IRB review.

The course instructor has the responsibility for ensuring that the student is educated on the general principles of research ethics, human participant protection, and investigator training. Faculty and students may contact the IRB to discuss the assignment and obtain assistance.

Yes, however in addition to Westcliff University IRB approval, in cases where international research will be conducted, the guidelines established by the OHRP at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are also followed. The guidelines can be found at: http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/international/index.html.

All pilot studies require a separate IRB application and approval, in addition to an IRB application for the proposed research to be conducted after the completion of the pilot study.

Participant recruitment must not begin until the study has received IRB approval. All plans for recruitment and recruitment documents must be submitted with the application. Recruiting participants prior to approval may result in disapproval of the application and new participants will need to be determined.

Data collection must not begin prior to IRB approval. Data collection plans and all instrumentation must be submitted with the application. Data collected prior to approval may result in disapproval of the application and new data will need to be collected.

No. There is no provision in the federal regulations that allow for IRB approval of research that has already been conducted. If data were collected for purposes that the IRB determines to be non-research (e.g., program evaluations for library or educational programs not initially intended to be used for research), IRB approval can be sought for the data analysis going forward.

At Westcliff University, all investigators and research staff are required to successfully complete the CITI Program training and the IRB application training. The CITI program training must be updated at least once every three years. A completion certificate for each CITI program completed course is required from the principal investigator and any committee members or research advisors when submitting an application for review. The following CITI program courses are required:

Social and Behavioral Responsible Conduct of Research
Social – Behavioral – Educational Researchers
Students and Instructors
Research Study and Design

If any changes to the research plan the principal investigator must complete the Amendment to Original IRB Certification (Appendix J) and submit it prior to implementing any changes to the research plan.

Westcliff University faculty, staff, and students may not be recruited for participation in dissertation research.

If a principal investigator wishes to contest an IRB decision, he or she may make a written request to the IRB chairperson to reconsider. No further appeal is available. No faculty member or administrator may conduct or approve a research project involving human participants that has not been certified by the IRB as in compliance with applicable ethical and legal standards.