Institutional Review Board: ​Guidelines for Research with Human Subjects

The complete policy and guidelines are available on the Institutional Review Board’s website.

All research done by Purchase College faculty, students, and staff involving human or animal subjects must be evaluated for its compliance with accepted ethical principles, as must all research conducted on members of the Purchase College community by researchers from outside of Purchase College. The full document outlines the guidelines and procedure for research involving human subjects only; those planning research with animal subjects are referred to the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) for the relevant guidelines and procedures.

Research involving human subjects must be evaluated for:

  1. potential harm to subjects that may result from their participation
  2. potential benefits of the research for the subject and the community as a whole
  3. procedures used to ensure the informed and voluntary participation of research subjects
  4. procedures used to ensure the confidentiality of research subjects
  5. procedures for aftercare of research subjects when there is some potential for harm to participants resulting from their participation in the research.

Researchers are not allowed to determine whether their own research is exempt from review. Research done by students for a course, independent study, or senior project must be approved by the course instructor or faculty sponsor before data collection begins. It is the faculty member’s responsibility to determine whether the proposed research meets the criteria for research exempt from review by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) or is subject to review by the committee. Criteria for research that is exempt from review are described in the policy and guidelines. In the case of research conducted by faculty or staff, the chair of the IRB, or an experienced reviewer designated by the committee chair, must make this determination. Research that is not exempt from review must be approved by the IRB before data collection begins.