This page is dedicated to students and employees as well as anyone outside the Wor-Wic community who wish to conduct research based on Wor-Wic employees or students. Principal researchers conducting research involving human subjects must submit their research proposal materials along with all required forms to Wor-Wic’s IRB. A principal researcher is defined as any individual assuming full responsibility for a research project, including supervision of research assistants, staff, and students.
Researchers must submit the following documentation (as applicable):
| Type of Study | Description | Estimated Processing Time |
|---|---|---|
| Exempt | Research proposals with no risks to human subjects will be reviewed only by the IRB chair. The IRB chair reserves the right to determine the use of human subjects and the risk level of the human subjects based on the submitted documents. Additionally, the IRB chair may request further documentation, recommend changes to the research, ask for clarification, or submit the proposal for review by additional board members. | 4 weeks (If complete and no revisions are required.) |
| Expedited | Research proposals that involve minimal risks to human subjects will be reviewed by the IRB chair and two IRB committee members representing the area of study. An expert may be consulted, if necessary. The review team may request further documentation, recommend changes to the research, ask for clarification, or submit the proposal for review by the full IRB. | 6 weeks (If complete and no revisions are required.) |
| Full board | Research proposals that involve moderate risks to human subjects or fail to reach consensus among the reviewing team will be reviewed by the full board. The full IRB may request further documentation, recommend changes to the research, ask for clarification, or reject the proposal. | 12 weeks (If complete and no revisions are required.) |
Once the application is reviewed by the IRB chair and/or board, the IRB chair forwards a recommendation for approval/disapproval to the Vice President for Academic Affairs for review and final approval.
All human subjects research activities that have been approved by the IRB through the exempt, expedited, or full board review process are subject to extended review until the research project is complete. The extended review will be performed at intervals appropriate to the degree of risk involved in the research, but not less than once a year. Researchers who have a project extending beyond that period of time must submit a request for renewal/continuation of research application, which can be found under the documents section of this page.
A researcher cannot implement any changes to an IRB-approved protocol without prior IRB approval, except where necessary to eliminate apparent immediate hazards to subjects. If after a research proposal is approved and the researcher desires to modify the research process in a way that differs from the approved protocol, the researcher must obtain approval from the IRB by submitting an IRB approval modification form, found under the IRB documents section of this page. Researchers may not implement any changes until approval has been received.
It is the principal researcher’s responsibility to inform the IRB chair of any adverse events that occur during the course of the study that impact study participants. Concerns related to research involving Wor-Wic’s faculty, students, or staff should be directed to the IRB chair.
Wor-Wic’s IRB documentation and forms:
HSR Quick Start
IRB Handbook
HSR Application
Annual Renewal
Negative Incident Report
Research Closure
Please submit all completed and signed forms to irb@worwic.edu