Institutional Review Board

You should include in your description of proposed project the following:

1. Any collaborators in outside institutions (other researchers, school teachers, principals?
2. If other collaborators are involved, has this project already been approved at the host institution? If so, please provide a letter or have the host sign an institutional agreement.
3. General statement of the problem and formulation of the research hypothesis (for thesis/ dissertation) or research questions (for action research/ lit review) to be investigated by the proposed research
4. Description in detail of the overall plan, procedures and methods. (Attach any questionnaires and/or testing instruments, as well as cover letter instructions to participants and permission letters to parents, etc)
5. Include number, relevant characteristics and source of participants. Describe how the participants will be recruited. With all data to be used (case files, curriculum projects, assessments etc.), how is the anonymity of participants protected and what is the procedure to access this data? What will be specifically culled from the data set? Also, please enclose a letter from the original researcher, or data collector or their representative, giving permission to use the data. Where relevant, the writer of the letter should indicate that informed consent was collected, and that all efforts were made to guard the confidentiality of participants (especially in the case of minors/ students in school settings)
6. Describe how the participants will be selected for participation in this project and any remuneration to be received by the participants (incentives)
7. Status and qualifications of research assistants, if any
8. Source of funding for the project (if relevant, typically for faculty research)
9. Expected starting and ending dates for the project. Projects cannot begin without written approval of the IRB. DO NOT INCLUDE DATES ALREADY PAST
10. Outline potential benefit of this project to the individual participant, group of participants or society in general.
11. Outline potential risks to participants and the measures taken to minimize such risks
12. Specify steps taken to guard the anonymity of participants and/or the confidentiality of their responses. Indicate what personal identifying indicator will be kept on participants. Specify procedures for storage and ultimate disposal information. For legal purposes, BU advisors are responsible for the data collected and encouraged to store it on campus, locked
13. If relevant to your study, specify how subjects will be informed of the following: a) The nature of their participation in the project, b) That there participation is voluntary, c) That their responses are confidential. Attach a copy of the Informed Consent Form(s)
14. If the participants are to be drawn from an institution or organization (e.g., hospital, social service agency, prison, school, etc.) which has the responsibility for the participants, documentation of permission from the institution must be submitted to the Board before final approval can be given
15. If relevant, specify institutional ethical procedures, at the site of data collection, to which application will be subjected (e.g., what are the research review procedures at the institution where the data will be obtained; or how will you account for some student inclusion and not others?
16. If relevant, specify any special participants populations (e.g., minors, prisons, or the mentally incompetent) involved in this project and describe the procedures for obtaining the appropriate consent. Participants may be considered ‘special populations’ when there is a question whether they are able to freely give consent to are coerced in giving consent
17. Will the participant(s) be exposed to any psychological intervention such as deception, contrived social situations, manipulation of the participants’ attitudes, opinions, or self-esteem, psychotherapeutic procedures, or other psychological influences? If so, describe procedures for follow-up and/or debriefing
18. Make certain that at least one researcher (usually the primary or faculty) is certified through NIH and has a copy of that certification on file with the IRB chair. Certification is required and mandated by NIH. No research proposal will be approved without proper documentation.