The Evergreen State College is committed to the conduct of quality research in an ethical and responsible manner to further science and to improve the health of society. All research involving human subjects must be conducted in compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local regulations, including the requirements outlined in the HHS Protection of Human Subjects regulations at 45 CFR part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects 2017). The Evergreen State College requires that all research conducted by faculty, staff, or students involving human subjects be reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) prior to research initiation.
Conditions for Review
If the project you propose meets all three of the following conditions (45 CFR 46.102(d)), then you must complete a Human Subjects Review application and receive approval from Evergreen's IRB before you begin recruiting participants for your project:
- The project is a systematic investigation
- The project is designed to lead to generalizable knowledge
- The project involves collecting data or private identifiable information about human subjects
Not sure if your project must go through Human Subjects Review?
Review the Guidelines for Research with Human Subjects
Review Process
If your project requires Human Subjects Review, you must complete and submit a research cover sheet and application to Evergreen’s Institutional Review Board at irb@evergreen.edu.
IRB Application and Cover Sheet
The application must also include a Human Research CITI Training Completion Report for each faculty, staff, and student researcher on the project. CITI certification in Human Subjects Research remains valid for 3 years from date of completion. You can complete the CITI Human Subjects training modules and download a completion report for training modules you have finished on CITI Training.
Review Board
The IRB Board meets twice a quarter, in weeks four and eight. Applications requiring full review are due on Monday at 5 pm in weeks three and seven. Once you complete and submit an application for human subjects review, the IRB will review your application and return a decision. The IRB will return one of three decisions to you:
- Approved
- Not Human Subjects Research (research project may proceed)
- Further review needed (researcher must submit clarifications or corrections to the application)
In making its decision, the IRB relies on the review criteria specified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s regulation 45 CFR 46 (also known as the Common Rule) and by Evergreen’s Use of Human Subjects policy.
After Application Approval
Once your application has been approved, the IRB will provide you with a letter certifying that you may proceed with your research. You may not begin any research involving human subjects before you have received this letter. Please keep this letter for your records.
Please be sure in planning your research that you allow time for revisions to your protocol. If you are working with a vulnerable population, you should expect your application to require a review by the full IRB board, which meets twice a quarter.