It is the policy of Concordia University Wisconsin (CUW) that any research conducted by its faculty, staff or students involving human subjects must come before the Institutional Review Board (IRB) for review and approval. Protocols already approved by an IRB of another institution may be recognized by the CUW IRB. These protocols should be submitted under expedited review. Please click here for details and instructions on expedited review. Involvement of individuals as subjects in a research study is not permitted until the CUW IRB has reviewed and approved the proposal. Approval by the IRB is in effect for one year; projects lasting longer than one year must be re-submitted to the IRB for continued review. While investigators may contact organizations from which subjects might be recruited, contacting subjects for recruitment or obtaining consent is also prohibited until IRB approval is received.
It is also the policy of the CUW IRB that individuals submitting for IRB approval to perform research on human subjects take part in an required online training (CITI) about the ethical considerations involved in human research. Individuals who need to take the tutorial include the principal investigator(s) and key personnel; key personnel are defined as investigators and researchers involved directly with human subjects. The investigators must save the certificate of completion as a .pdf file after taking the tutorial and submit it with the IRB Protocol submission Document via Cayuse. This policy applies to projects qualifying for full board review and exempt review. Please click here for specific directions about how to complete the online CITI tutorial.
A human subject is defined as a living individual about whom an investigator conducting research obtains, 1) data through intervention or interaction with the individual or 2) identifiable private information. Intervention includes both physical procedures by which data are gathered and manipulations of the subject or the subject’s environment that are performed for research purposes. Interaction means communication or interpersonal contact between investigator and subject.
Research is defined as a systematic investigation, including research development, testing and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge.
Policies for Research Studies Involving Comfort Dogs
If you have any questions, please contact:
Dr. Janessa Doucette
Director
janessa.doucette@cuw.edu
262-243-2731