As part of the requirements for the final project in ETAP 777, you will be required to submit a research proposal to the University at Albany's Institutional Review Board (IRB) for approval. The IRB approval process involves several steps. Please familiarize yourself with these policies and procedures in order to minimize the chance that your project for this course will be delayed.

Please note that University policy requires that you receive IRB approval before you begin any research.

The IRB review process is explained in detail at http://www.albany.edu/research/osp/irb_review_process.html. On that page you can access the IRB Human Participants Review Form, which you must complete and submit to the IRB as part of the requirements for ETAP 777.

The review process includes the IRB Training Module, titled The Protection of Human Participants in Research, which is available at http://www.albany.edu/research/osp/humansubjects_page.html#Education. On that page click the link to the training module for social and behaviorial sciences. This module will take you several hours to complete, so be sure to set aside ample time for it.

Three important notes:

1. You must complete the training module before you can submit your IRB review form. IRB will send you a letter certifying that you have completed the training module. IRB will not accept proposals for review unless you have received this training certification.

2. You will need my signature (as your Faculty Supervisor) on the IRB form (unless your work for this course is part of your dissertation research or another project on which you are working with another faculty member).

3. You may qualify for expedited review (which takes less time than a full review). Most projects for this course should qualify for expedited review. Two notable exceptions are studies involving minors and studies involving sensitive topics; such studies require full review. (See page 6 of the Investigator's Guide at http://www.albany.edu/research/osp/InvestigatorsGuide02.pdf for more information.)