Students Conducting Research

All student research involving human subjects must be supervised by a faculty member.

In consultation with your faculty advisor, complete a research proposal and the IRB Request for Review Form. Your faculty supervisor can help you determine whether you must submit your research proposal to the IRB for review and can assist you in completing the IRB Request for Review Form.

Your advisor must be the one to initiate your IRB review by forwarding the Request for Review Form to irb@up.edu. By forwarding the form, your advisor indicates that he or she approves of the project as outlined in your research proposal and in the IRB Request for Review Form.

If a project raises particular issues that the IRB feels are not adequately addressed in the submitted materials, the researcher may be asked to submit additional information, clarify a point, or make revisions. On rare occasions, the researcher and faculty supervisor may be asked to appear before the IRB to resolve matters of procedure, etc.

When the IRB approves the proposed research, notice will be provided to the student's faculty advisor and the student researcher. You may not begin to collect data from human subjects before you have received approval of the project from the IRB.

For most research proposals (e.g., projects that do not involve vulnerable populations and that represent minimal risk to subjects), the IRB makes every attempt to respond to the request for review within 14 days of submission. However, during particularly busy periods additional time may be necessary, so plan ahead. The IRB does not meet during the summer, so any proposal that may require Full Board review should be submitted by the March 31.