Completing a TCS IRB Application

1.     Categories of IRB Review

2.      Informed Consent Process

a.      Template: Written Informed Consent Form (to be used when creating a written consent).

b.      Template: Oral Consent Script(to be used as an example when creating an oral consent script)

3.  CITI Human Subjects Protection Training: All investigators (student or faculty) and Dissertation/Thesis Chairs must complete the CITI Program online ethics training course before submitting an IRB application. All investigators & Dissertation/Thesis Chairs must complete the "SBS Investigators" module. Upon successful completion of the training, be sure to download an electronic copy of your certificate of completion for submission. Evidence of a valid certificate must be submitted before IRB applications can be reviewed. Individuals must register on the CITI website as a "new user" and be sure to select "TCS Education" from the list of affiliate institutions. To register and complete the course, click here.

4.   Advertisements for Research

5.      Common Pitfalls

After you have read the information above, you are ready to complete your application. A complete application will contain all of the documents below. Files should be named using "first initial_last name-Document name". For example a_cook-Cover sheet". The IRB reserves the right to return incomplete applications to the researcher for completion.

1.      Cover Sheet

4.     Supplemental forms (as applicable)

a.      Supplemental form C for studies enrolling children

b.      Supplemental form J for studies enrolling prisoners

c.      Supplemental form P for studies enrolling pregnant women

d.      Additional Study documents (as appropriate)                                                                                                               

    i.    Informed Consent Materials
    ii.   Recruitment 
    iii.  Letters of support/Site Approval
    iv.  Survey/questionnaires        

A complete IRB application often contains over ten separate files. To keep these together through the review process, the IRB asks you to zip the separate files you are submitting into one zipped folder for submission to the IRB. Please zip all of the above documents together so that they may be submitted as one zipped folder.

To use the free MS software found on most computers running Windows, follow these steps:
1. Put your IRB Application files into a single folder, open that folder
2. Use "Edit," then "Select All" to select all the files
3. Right click over the selected files, then scroll down to "Send To," then select "Compressed (zipped) Folder"
4. This will create a single folder containing all your individual files.
5. Rename the zipped folder, using this convention: first initial, lastname-APP (example: acook-QA)

For more IRB information, please direct all questions to: