Policy and Procedures for the Protection of Human Subjects During Research
(Trident Technical College acknowledges the assistance of the Sinclair Community College Grants Office and Blue Mountain Community College that allowed TTC to adapt and adopt their IRB forms and policies.)
 
In order to comply with federal policy as stated in the “Common Rule for the Protection of Human Subjects,” Trident Technical College has established an Institutional Review Board to ensure that all college-related research activities protect the individual rights of human participants, particularly in regard to issues of safety and confidentiality. (Note: The Common Rule is the term used by seventeen federal agencies who have adopted the same regulations governing human subjects of research.)

According to the Code of Federal Regulations 45 CRF Part 690, the following definitions apply:

Research is defined as, “A systematic investigation, including research development, testing and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge.” (Generalizable knowledge is roughly defined as results of a study that are to be published, printed in a paper or otherwise implied to have implications beyond the test population.)

Human Subject is defined as, “Human subject means a living individual about whom an investigator (whether professional or student) conducting research obtains (1) data through intervention or interaction with the individual, or (2) identifiable private information. Private information includes information about behavior that occurs in a context in which an individual can reasonably expect that no observation or recording is taking place, and information which has been provided for specific purposes by an individual and which the individual can reasonably expect will not be made public (for example, a medical record). Private information must be individually identifiable (i.e., the identity of the subject is or may readily be ascertained by the investigator or associated with the information) in order for obtaining the information to constitute research involving human subjects.”

All research involving human subjects conducted at or sponsored by TTC, TTC employees, TTC students and/or student/faculty collaborative research under the auspices of the College must be submitted for review to the IRB.

In particular, any TTC employee submitting a proposal to a federal agency for a project involving human research must complete required forms and receive IRB approval prior to submitting an application for funding. Currently, seventeen federal agencies (including the National Science Foundation) will not make federal grant awards without IRB review.

The TTC Grants Specialist in the Development Office will help you determine whether a project fits the definitions of “research” and “human subjects” and will help you complete the forms for submission to the IRB.
If you or your students are considering any research (including questionnaires), you must review the procedure and forms outlined below to determine which level of review is warranted for your project and complete the required forms and documentation.