Important Steps in IRB Review
Research projects involving human subjects conducted by students and faculty from the University of Iowa require prior approval by the University of Iowa Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB is a group of individuals charged with reviewing and approving proposed research involving human subjects to ensure the protection of those subjects and compliance with federal human subjects regulations. The University of Iowa has three review boards, each consisting of faculty, staff, and representatives from the Iowa City community. In order to ensure that you are following the correct review procedures for your upcoming research project, please carefully review the following guidelines:
IMPORTANT STEPS IN IRB REVIEW
1. Educate yourself in human subjects protections
- CITI training
- Read the "Guide to Human Subjects Protections in Research"
- Attend training sessions provided by the HSO
2. Develop all details for the conduct of the study including all recruitment, consenting, data collection documents/tools. Finalize all materials and obtain any additional agreements.
3. Create an IRB application using HawkIRB (access through the HSO web site at http://www.research.uiowa.edu/hso/)
4. Ask others to read your application, especially your consent. Your mentor/faculty advisor MUST read and agree with your application prior to submission to the IRB.
5. Submit your application through HawkIRB.
6. Respond to questions from the IRB review process through HawkIRB.
7. DO NOT begin your project until you have an APPROVAL LETTER and stamped, approved documents from the IRB. Just responding to questions through HawkIRB does NOT mean you have approval to begin!
8. Once you have final approval, submit any changes via HawkIRB and get the approval BEFORE implementation.
9. Contact the IRB with any questions or concerns. Additional information may be found on the HSO web site at http://research.uiowa.edu/hso