Research Proposal Instructions

The following guidelines are provided in order to assist you with the Institutional Review of Research with Human Subjects process. Failure to complete the steps or provide essential information may significantly delay the approval of a proposal.


How long will it take for a study to be approved?

  • If your study involves the collection of sensitive behavior (e.g., behaviors relating to sex, drugs, alcohol, mental health) or other regulated research, a Full Review by all committee members is required and it will take approximately 10 - 15 business days to receive preliminary feedback. If revisions to the proposal are requested, additional time will be required to review your modifications after responding to the directives of the IRB. Please PLAN accordingly. You should plan for a minimum of 30 - 45 days for a full review.
  • If your study does not require a full review, either an Exempt Declaration will be made or an Expedited Review will be undertaken, and you will receive initial feedback within approximately 5 - 15 business days, perhaps less. Approval time depends on the extent of requested revisions, if any, and the number of research proposals received at any given time. Please PLAN accordingly.
  • An Expedited Review is one that can be reviewed by one or two members of the IRB. Proposals are reviewed in the order in which they are received. No exceptions will be made to this practice. Please PLAN accordingly.

Steps for IRB Approval

  1. For all studies, the primary investigator (or instructor, for class projects), students, and anyone who will be administering the study and/or collecting data MUST complete an online training tutorial offered by the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) prior to submitting a research proposal. Student training modules require approximately 2 - 3 hours while the modules required of faculty and staff may take approximately 4 hours. The training is online and self-paced. Instructions for creating a CITI account and accessing the training modules varies depending on whether you are a student or are faculty/staff. Once you have successfully completed the training modules, you earn a course completion Record ID number. This number, not your member number, MUST be submitted with your Request for Approval of Research form.
  2. Complete the IRB "Request for Approval of Research" form included on the IRB page. Please follow the "Best Practices for Completing the Request for Approval of Research" guidance provided at the end of these guidelines.
  3. Create an Informed Consent form. Please use the "Consent to Participate In Human Research Project" form appropriate for your proposal and found on the IRB website. PLEASE NOTE that this form is a guide and may be modified according to your research needs. The consent form should contain the following (as appropriate and depending on the risk associated with your research). Although these elements are essential for many experiments, they are unnecessary and inappropriate for most ethnographic research designs.
  • Purpose of the study
  • Duration - how long will it take participants to complete it?
  • Risks involved - however minor they may be
  • Benefits: the form of compensation for participating (if any)
  • A statement that participation is voluntary and participants may discontinue the study at any time.
  • For Surveys/interviews: A statement that participants have the right to skip questions they might feel uncomfortable answering.
  • Extent to which confidentiality of participants' data will be maintained
  • Contact information for the person supervising the project as well as the Chair of the Institutional Review Board for Research with Human Subjects at W&L.
  1. If you are conducting an online survey, the invitational email that you will send to participants will serve as the informed consent form and must contain the appropriate elements listed in Step 3. By clicking the survey link, a participant consents to participate, and the email message will serve as the notice of informed consent. Participation implies consent.
  2. If you are conducting a survey, the survey and a link to it must be submitted to the IRB.
  3. EMAIL ALL application materials (see check list below) to the IRB Chair (Bryan Price - bprice@wlu.edu ).
  • Request for Approval Form
  • Consent form or forms (invitational email for online surveys)
  • Your Training Course Completion Record ID number is included as an item on the Request for Approval Form
  • If you are conducting a survey, a copy of and link to your survey
  • All appendices used in your research