Institutional
Review Board (IRB)
for Human Subject research
In the interest of protecting the safety of Haverford
College students and personnel, and of complying with federal regulations,
all research involving human subjects, whether externally funded
or not, must be first approved by its Institutional Review Board
(IRB) for Human Subject Research.
- The term ‘research’ is intended to cover any type
of investigation that is meant for print, web-based, or broadcast
publication, i.e., whose results will in some form be available
to the public, regardless of whether public funding is sought.
- IRB approval is required for research performed by employees
and students of the College, and to research by outside individuals
or groups involving Haverford students or taking place on its
campus.
Certain categories of human subject research (for
instance: non-sensitive and anonymous surveys and some pedagogical
research) are exempt from the federal human subject research regulations.
Those wishing to undertake such exempt research should still obtain
confirmation of the exempt status by filling out and submitting
the Exemption Request Form (use the link below).
A faculty or staff member wishing to initiate research involving
human subjects is expected to submit a detailed proposal describing
the research. Haverford students must prepare a proposal jointly
with a sponsoring faculty member. Investigators must complete the
National Institutes of Health "Protecting Human Research Participants"
course (http://phrp.nihtraining.com),
or receive equivalent training.
A proposal application form may be downloaded using the link below.
Copies of consent forms, survey instruments (questionnaires) and
other relevant materials should be appended. Proposals may be submitted
to the IRB's Executive Assistant (Liz Kittleman, 610-896-1014).
Electronic submission, sent to hc-irb@haverford.edu
(as an attached .doc or .pdf file), will speed consideration
of proposals.
The IRB usually is able to reach a decision on
a proposal within 2 or 3 weeks (4 to 6 weeks during the summer).
Proposals are approved for a period of up to one year from the date
of the approval letter. At or before the conclusion of this period,
the faculty/staff investigator or sponsor should submit either a
final report or a request for continuation, using the form linked
below.
More details of IRB operations and criteria for
reviewing proposals are given in the IRB procedures document, available
for download below. Also included is a link to a checklist that
may be useful both to proposers and IRB members.
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