Institutional Review Board

Research Involving Human Participants

Any research involving humans or human tissues conducted under the auspices of APSU must be reviewed by the Austin Peay State University Institutional Review Board (APSU IRB). Research with minimal involvement of human participants, such as surveys or questionnaires, require some procedural APSU IRB review. Investigators are required to submit to the College of Graduate Studies/APSU IRB a completed Application for Project Approval. Instructions and an example of an Informed Consent Document are provided with the application form.

Please submit either an electronic or a hard copy of the application.  Electronic copies are preferred and can be sent as an attachment to IRB@apsu.edu.  Paper copies can be sent to the IRB Office in the College of Graduate Studies PO Box 4458. All copies MUST include a signed signature page. The IRB will determine the type of review appropriate for your application. The P.I. for all research involving human subjects must complete the ethics training (CITI) and provide evidence to the College Of Graduate Studies of completed training. (APSU 2002: III (D) 1.)

IRB Links

• Current Members
• Meetings
• CITI Training
• Instructions for Mandatory Training

History of Human Subjects in Research

• Tuskegee Syphilis Study
• Recruitment and Experience at Tuskegee
• How Tuskegee Changed Research Practices
• An Apology to Survivors of Tuskegee
• Nuremberg & the Doctors Trial
• The Belmont Report
• 45 CFR 46

Applications, Forms and Preparing for the IRB Review

• Application
• Flow Chart for Determining Appropriate Review Categories
• Request for Closed Study Review
• Progress Report for an Active Study
• Informed Consent Statement
• Sample Survey Informed Consent
  
  

Guidelines:

• Ethical and Legal Aspects of Human Subjects Research in Cyberspace
• APSU Policy on Research Involving Human Subjects
• Inclusion of Children as Participants in Research
• Inclusion of Persons with Questionable Capacity for Decision
• IRB Review of Human Subjects Protocols in Grant Applications

Agencies, Organizations and Other References

• IRB Protection of Human Participants in Survey Research
• American Psychological Association (APA)
• American Psychological Association Code of Ethics
• HIPAA Privacy Rule for Researchers
• National Institutes of Health (NIH)
• NIH Bioethics Resources on the Web
• Office for Human Research Protection (OHRP)
• Office of Research Integrity
• OHRP-Common Compliance Oversight Findings
• Poynter Center for Research Ethics
• Research on Human Specimens: NIH Overview
• Tennessee School Boards Assn. SAMPLE POLICY regarding Surveys of Students