Every university has an IRB (Institutional Review Board) to ensure that its researchers comply to federal regulations for using human subjects.

How do you know if you need an IRB?

If you are doing systematic research and are using human subjects an IRB is required.

The COMMON RULE or The  FEDERAL POLICY FOR THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN SUBJECTS requires an IRB for any “systematic investigation, including research development, testing and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge.”  IRBs are required when conducting systematic research on living human subjects in which identifiable information about these living subjects must be collected and/or other data collection that involves intervention or interaction with that living subject.

IRBs are NOT required for projects not involving systematic research, such as ORAL HISTORIES or JOURNALISM or with CASE STUDIES or if the research is used exclusively for educational purposes, such as in a class project.  If the research will be used outside of this class or will lead to further research outside the class, an IRB is needed!

*Keep in mind that there are different types of IRB forms (medical, biomedical, non-medical), so you’ll need to determine which type or types fit your particular critical inquiry.

For a nice graphic, see Cornell’s Do I need an IRB infographic.