Institutional Review Board (IRB) Review

At the outset of the project students and partners should discuss and put in writing agreements with regard to the ownership of data and the guidelines and restrictions put upon students by the University of Colorado Boulder Institutional Review Board (IRB).

The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder) requires that all research involving human subjects conducted by faculty or staff affiliated with the university be reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) prior to initiation. Investigators may not solicit subject participation or begin data collection until they have received written approval from the IRB. The IRB further requires that all student research activities are supervised by a faculty member; however, some types of student research activities may not require IRB review above and beyond faculty supervision. CU Boulder supports a wide range of both undergraduate and graduate student research projects using human subjects from course related research exercises to dissertation studies. Not all projects that have an investigative aspect are considered to meet the definition of “research” or “human subjects research”. For Capstone Projects that involve surveys or interviews, students will need to assess whether these activities for their project require IRB review. In order to determine if your project requires IRB review contact the Institutional Review Board Office (303-735-3702). IRB review will be discussed in Capstone Innovation Lab as students are beginning to finalize the scope of their projects, goals, objectives, and work plan.