Academic Affairs

IRB Application and Information

All empirical research involving human beings conducted at Salem State University or by Salem State University faculty, administrators, staff, students, or others under the sponsorship of Salem State, must be submitted to the SSU IRB for review. Applications must be submitted before the start of the research.

The IRB application and accomanying information can be found below. Visit the forms page for sample consent forms, disclosure statements, extension/modification form, and application for researchers outside of SSU.

• IRB Application & Application Information
• Timetable for Review
• Categories of Review 
• Modification or Extension of Previously Approved Protocol
• Information for Student Teachers
• Information for Faculty Learning Communities
• Blanket Class Approvals

IRB Application & Information

• Complete Paper Application (.pdf)
  • Include project summary, copies of data collection instruments, consent or disclosure form(s) as appropriate, and letter(s) of agreement from participating organization(s) on official letterhead
  • Materials can be submitted in one of the following ways:
    • Email
    • Fax to 978.542.2480
    • Mail to Institutional Review Board, Salem State University, 352 Lafayette Street, Salem, MA 01970
    • Drop off at our office, Room 202, Administration Building
• Sample consent, disclosure, and assent forms can be found on our Forms page
• Project start date must be subsequent to application submission date and allow for sufficient time for application review (2 weeks)
• Applicants may not begin research, including data collection or subject recruitement, until they have received official approval from the IRB
• If your proposal includes a pretest given at the start of the semester, approval must be sought in the prior semester

Timetable for Review

• Applications are not reviewed until all materials are received
• Complete applications are reviewed as they are received
• Exempt and Expedited applications are reviewed within 2 weeks of submission
• Applications which require full committee review are reviewed on a monthly basis during the academic year and as needed during the summer months
• Committee members and meeting schedules are available on our website
• Notifications by the IRB, including approvals, are done electronically by email
• No research, including data collection, may begin until the principal investigator receives IRB approval

Categories of Review

• Exempt: Certain projects, such as those that involve only survey, questionnaire, or interview procedures, and anonymous participation, may be categorized as no or minimal risk and may be exempt from the federal policy for the Protection of Human Subjects.  Exemption is determined by the IRB, not the prinicipal investigator.  No research with vulnerable populations, including participants under age 18, may be exempt.
  • Vulerable populations include children/minors under the age of 18, prisoners confined in a correctional or detention facility, pregnant women in which pregnancy is a condition of participation in proposed research, cognitively or mentally disabled individuals who are presumed not legally competent, economically or educationally disadvantaged individuals, and/or others vulnerable to coercion or undue influence.
• Expedited Review: Applications that involve no more than minimal risk to human subjects may be eligible for expedited review
• Full Committee Review: Applications that involve more than minimal risk to participants require full committee review
  • Minimal Risk implies that the risk of harm anticipated in the proposed research is not greater than that which is normally found in daily life
  • More than minimal risk implies that the risk of harm anticipated from the proposed research is greater than that which is normally found in daily life
  • Research which involves more than minimal risk requires a signed informed consent from participants.  More information on informed consent can be found in the FAQ's

Modification or Extension of Previously Approved Protocol

• Modifications of previously approved protocols need IRB approval to ensure the research modifications fall within the originally approved project.
• Minor changes to an existing protocol can be addressed in the Modification Request Form (.pdf).  Extensive changes are best addressed by submitting a new application
• Multi-year projects must seek annual renewal.  Extensions can be submitted through the Modification Request Form (.pdf)

Information for Student Teachers

• Student teachers who conduct research in their classroom must obtain written permission on official school letterhead from their school principal or superintendent.  An agreement letter must accompany the IRB application
• Parental consent must be obtained for any research with minors in the classroom except where permission is waived by the school principal or superintendent.  Please check with your school for their official guidelines.

Information for Faculty Learning Communities

• Faculty participating in research through the Faculty Learning Communities (FLC) whose research includes a systematic investigation designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge must submit an IRB application
  • Applications which include a pretest given at the start of the semester must have IRB approval before the test is administered
• Faculty with an IRB approval from a previous FLC, whose research contains no major changes to the methodology or data collection may apply for an extension of a previously approved protocol.

Blanket Class Approvals

• Faculty may choose to submit a single IRB application for their entire undergraduate class so long as all of the research will be conducted within the undergraduate classroom using the same methodology for all human subjects
• Any student who wishes to conduct research using a different scope of research must apply for approval separately from the blanket class approval