Constitution
- The Institutional Review Board (IRB) is responsible for reviewing, approving, and monitoring all human participant research conducted at Alvernia University.
- Consistent with the National Institutes of Health Minimal Regulatory Requirements for IRB Review, the IRB ensures that the appropriate measures are taken by the researcher to protect participants by minimizing any potential risks. Potential risks should be measured against the potential benefit to the participants and the importance of knowledge gained through the study should also be considered.
- Consistent with a focus on ethics, the IRB reserves the right to suspend research activities if scientific misconduct is evident within the study. Scientific misconduct pertains to fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in proposing, performing, or reporting research.
- The IRB requires the following of the researcher:
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- Informed consent is required unless consent is waived or research is anonymous
- The researcher must adhere to the policies and procedures established by the IRB
- Privacy of confidentiality of the participants must be guaranteed
- Appropriate safeguards are included in the study to protect participants from any potential risk or harm
- The researcher holds the ultimate responsibility for his/her research.
- The researcher is responsible for the submitting a progress report to the board
- Researchers and advisors are required to complete an online training course prior to submitting a proposal for review. A copy of both the researcher's and advisor's certificate of completion must be submitted as part of the application process. Proposals that do not include this documentation will be immediately returned to the researcher.
