Types of Review

There are various levels of review that are provided for human research projects. They range from research that requires review by the convened boards, to research that can be reviewed by a designated IRB member, to research that is exempt from the human subject regulation review, and finally to research considered not to meet the definition of "human subject research" at all. The decision process for categorizing projects relies heavily on our institution's interpretation of federal regulation and guidance. The ultimate categorization of research must be done by the Protection Program for Human Subjects. However, researchers can become informed about the elements that are considered, so that they may construct their research accordingly, and be knowledgeable about what kind of application to submit to the IRB.