IRB Mission Statement
The primary purpose of the IRB is to assure the safety, rights, welfare and dignity of human subjects. The mission of the IRB is to determine whether research conducted by faculty, staff, employees, and students affiliated with Carroll College complies with applicable law, institutional policies, and standards of professional conduct and practice while embracing the mission of Carroll College. Specifically, the IRB is the group given responsibility by Carroll College to review research proposals that involve the use of human participants.
What Types of Projects Require IRB Approval?
Federal regulations and Carroll College policies require Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval for research involving information about living human subjects. These regulations and policies serve to protect the rights and welfare of human participants and apply to human subjects research conducted individually or collectively (i.e. as a class or in groups) by Carroll College faculty, staff, or students.
Independent student research projects in which human subjects are involved, either directly or through use of data about them, always require IRB approval. Examples of such projects include research projects conducted by Carroll College honors students in conjunction with honors requirements; projects by students individually enrolled in an independent study or research practicum with a professor; and projects by students planning to present their findings at a state, regional, or national conference.
Some class projects that involve human subjects will require IRB approval. Faculty should consult the "IRB Guidance for Class Projects" document (download available below) to determine if their planned project will require IRB approval.
Projects not involving information about human subjects never require IRB approval.
IRB Guidance for Class Projects
Many class projects are conducted solely for educational purposes, do not qualify as research, and do not require IRB approval. However, some class projects that involve human subjects will require IRB approval. This document was created specifically to help faculty determine before conducting a given activity if IRB approval is required. It is the hope of the IRB that the information provided within will allow faculty to modify future class projects, when possible, to avoid the need for IRB approval.
Contact Information
For information concerning application for IRB review, or to report problems with this site, please contact IRB Executive Officer, Jo Anne Eschler, Simperman Hall Room 124, (406)447-4462.