IRB Review Types
Please review the following review types to help determine which application to submit for your IRB approval. This information is provided as a starting point for determining your review type. Final determination of review type is at the discretion of the IRB.
IRB Forms
- Exempt Research– Exempt research is considered to have minimal to almost no risk to participants. It is named as such as it is considered exempt from most of the Federal Policy related to Protection of Human Subjects. Although the review type is called “exempt,” this type of research DOES require IRB review and the determination of exemption must be made by the IRB. Note: Each exempt type has a different primary application form.
- Exempt 1– If you’re doing research in an educational setting involving normal educational practices (ie. research on instructional strategies, research on the effectiveness of instructional techniques, etc.), you should review the Exempt 1 criteria to see if it applies to your protocol.
- Exempt 2– If your research does not include any interventions and data will be collected using educational tests, surveys, interviews, or observation of public behaviors, and does not include minors, you should review the Exempt 2 criteria to see if it applies to your protocol.
- Exempt 3– If your research includes benign behavioral interventions that are brief in duration (with in a single day and does not exceed a few hours) in conjunction with the collection of information from an adult subject through verbal or written responses (including data entry) or audiovisual recording if the subject prospectively agrees to the intervention and information collection, you should review the Exempt 3 criteria to see if it applies to your protocol.
- Exempt 4– If your research involves the use of pre-existing data (not collected for the current research purpose) or data being collected for non research purposes (ie. standardized test scores), you should review the Exempt 4 criteria to see if it applies to your protocol.
- Exempt 5– If your research includes research and demonstration projects that are conducted or supported by a Federal department or agency, and specifically published on the agency’s website in advance of the research [This will be rare.], you should review the Exempt 5 criteria to see if it applies to your protocol.
- Exempt 6– If your research involves taste and food-quality evaluation and consumer acceptance, you should review the Exempt 6 criteria to see if it applies to your protocol.
- Class Exemption– If you are GS faculty and are including practice research involving human participants, as part of a class project assignment that will NOT be presented or disseminated outside of the class, you should review the Class Exempt criteria to see if it applies to your protocol.
The primary application form for the following review types are all the same:
- Expedited– If your research involves no more than minimal risk but does not fit one of the Exempt categories above, you should review the Expedited criteria to see if it applies to your protocol.
- Full Board– If your research involves more than minimal risk, you should review the Full Board criteria to see if it applies to your protocol. Full board review is often required for research involving:
- Vulnerable subject populations
- Active deception
- Minors outside of a school setting or not participating in normal educational practices
Applications with special requirements and/or supplemental forms:
- Medical Board– If your research involves physical interventions, the use of blood or body fluids, ingestion, injection or inclusion of a food product, supplement, or similar product related to an intervention or evaluation, please review the medical research requirements.
- International– For research that will take place outside of the US, please review the international research requirements.
- External Collaborations– If you are working with researchers that are not affiliated with Georgia Southern University, please review the collaboration requirements.
Last updated: 4/25/2024