Institutional Review Board (IRB)

Submit a Research Proposal

To submit a Research Proposal, complete this Google Form.

Primary investigators will be notified about IRB decisions as quickly as possible during the academic year (Fall and Spring semesters). Expected notification times are 2 weeks for exempt review; 1 month for expedited review, and 2 months for full review. 

No proposals will be reviewed during the winter and summer breaks, so please plan your submissions accordingly.

• PDF of the Research Proposal Form (for planning purposes only)
• Research Proposal Form (Google Form link for submissions)
• Informed consent template
• Debriefing template
• Debriefing template for studies that use deception or incomplete disclosure

Training

Any PI submitting a research proposal must complete training in HSR ethical guidelines. If the IRB determines that the proposal requires expedited or full review, a certificate of completion from all co-PIs will also be required (we recommend PIs have student researchers complete training even for exempt projects as it is a valuable learning experience). You may use any of the training options linked below or an equivalent program.

• NIH Protecting Human Research Participants; please contact the Provost office to request reimbursement for the cost of the NIH training.
• Human Research Protection Foundational Training; the US Department of Health and Human Services provides this 5-lesson training free of charge.
• OWU IRB HSR Research Ethics Training; coming soon!

Board Meetings

The IRB meets on the first Tuesday of February, March, April, May, September, October, November, and December. There are no IRB meetings in January, June, July, or August. Please plan your submissions accordingly.

• Fall 2024 Meetings: September 3, October 1, November 5, December 3
• Spring 2025 Meetings: February 4, March 4, April 1, May 6

Notify the IRB of Your Course Project

The HSR policy allows an exception to IRB approval for some "course projects" that use human subjects. Information regarding that exception can be found at this link.

It is useful for the IRB to track how many course projects are occuring and for instructors and students to verify that they are following the guidelines for such projects. We strongly encourage instructors and/or students engaged in HSR for course projects to notify the IRB of the project by completing this Google Form. 

Notify the IRB of Your Scholarly Activities Involving Human Subjects 

The HSR policy only applies to "research" activities involving human subjects, with research narrowly defined. Please see Table 1 in this document for guidance on determining whether your work meets the definition of "research" under the policy.

Individuals who are engaged in "nonresearch" scholarly activities involving human subjects may notify the IRB of their work to verify that their project falls outside of IRB purview using this Google Form.