Information Regarding Requirement

for Institutional Review Board Approval

 

All UND research involving human participants and conducted by university personnel or students must be reviewed following UND IRB procedures, and must be approved prior to the initiation of research activity and contact with potential human participants. There are no exceptions to this policy.  If you are going to complete research with human subjects and collect the data at another institution (hospital, clinic, etc.), you may also be required to obtain approval from the institution's review board. 

 

Obtaining Required IRB Approval:

 

Step 1. Overview of Requirements:  The  Office of Research and Program Development website will provide an overview for preparing and submitting an IRB proposal and a link to the Researcher's Handbook.  A careful review of this information will simplify the approval process.

Step 2. Complete Required Human Subject Education:

      a. Why is training necessary?  As a result of recent suspensions of research organizations because of noncompliance with regulations governing human subjects research, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has emphasized the need for those individuals involved in this kind of research to understand their obligations under the regulations. Recent regulations have specified that an educational program must be provided for investigators by institutions operating under the federal regulations governing human subjects research.

      b. Who has to take the training?  Principal Investigators and those individuals in contact with subjects and/or data and identifiers (key personnel) will need to complete the training.

      c. When do I need to complete this training?  All investigators and key personnel submitting proposals or Research Project Review and Progress Reports will be required to complete the training before approval of their proposal is granted by the IRB. The Principal Investigator should ensure that all key personnel have completed the training prior to submitting their Research Project Review and Progress Report or proposal. Approval will be suspended until all key personnel have completed training.      

      d. How do I complete this training?   The training is done by completing the IRB On-Line Educational Modules.  Individuals may register on the website to complete the required modules. The required modules are listed.  For most research projects students will want to complete the medical modules, however some students may have to complete the social-behavioral module depending on the research topic. Researchers will be asked to complete additional modules if they are using vulnerable populations as subjects such as prisoners, international, workers as research, conflicts of interest, pregnant women or genetic research. It will take approximately 24 hours to receive your password and log in. Each Module will take 10 to 30 minutes. The total required time is estimated to be two to three hours. The course does not have to be completed in one sitting and can be completed in any order. The passing score required is 80% (required modules only). If you fail the training or want to improve your score you may retake any or all of the modules. This process may take a couple of days.  If you have forgotten your password or ID please call (701) 777-4279. 

Step 3. Complete HIPPA Training:  The School of Medicine and Health Sciences requires that each enrolled student must complete HIPPA Training.  An online program is available for your use to access this training on the UNDSOM web page or at the HIPAA training siteYou may need to submit a "Student HIPPA Form" or verification of the completion of HIPPA training with your IRB Proposal.  (Check with the IRB where you submit your proposal.)  If you are planning on using medical records in your research, please refer to the Researcher's Handbook section entitled Use of Medical Records in Research.  You will also be required to fill out the HIPAA Application Form. 

  

Step 4..  Determine the approvals needed for your project:

      a. Research completed by UND students:  If you are collecting data at UND or another location/facility that does not have an IRB, you will submit your proposal to the UND IRB.  The forms you will use will be on the UND IRB web page (http://www.und.edu/dept/orpd/regucomm/irb/Default.htm).  Refer to the Researcher's Handbook (UND IRB web page) to determine the type of approval needed and which forms to use.

      b. Research completed by UND students at another site with an Institutional Review Board:  If you are collecting subject data at a site (hospital, clinic, etc.) that has an IRB, you may be required to obtain approval from the facility IRB.  In this situation, you have two options to consider.

            (1) IRB Authorization Agreement.  You may complete an "IRB Authorization Agreement" which will allow UND IRB to rely on another IRB outside of a UND for the review of a project.  The form is documentation of who has responsibility for the project review and approval and must be signed by both authorized agents of both IRBs (see sample form attached).  You would then submit this signed and a copy of your approved IRB proposal to the UND IRB office.

            (2) Submission to More than One IRB:  If you are not able to obtain a signed IRB Authorization Agreement, you will submit your proposal to both the institution's and UND's IRB.  Generally, you will submit the proposal to the institution where you will be collecting the data initially.  However, you should check with the IRB coordinator at both facilities for directions regarding the procedure to follow.

Step 5. Prepare the IRB Proposal: Follow the Researcher's Handbook when developing the text for your IRB proposal.  The IRB Forms can be downloaded from the ORPD website.  Use the IRB Checklist form to verify that you have completed the proposal appropriately. If you are planning on using the Internet to obtain data, you will also need to review section entitled Internet Research and comply with the criteria that applies to your research project.  Include the following with your proposal when you submit it to the IRB for review:

      a.   Consent Form

      b.   Letter of Willingness to Cooperate from cooperating institution(s) or individual(s)

      c.   A copy of instrument(s) such as surveys, etc. and or interview questions (if applicable)

      d.   Release of Student Educational Forms for each student researcher

      e.   HIPPA Student Form (if applicable)