Human Subjects Research

Our mission is to assure that the participants are treated as individuals with respect for their rights. When more than minimal risk is involved to the participants, scientific merit will be questioned.

Three basic ethical principles are particularly relevant to the protection of human subjects in biomedical and behavioral research:

1. Respect for persons: recognition of the personal dignity and autonomy of individuals and special protection of those persons with diminished autonomy
2. Beneficence: obligation to protect persons from harm by maximizing anticipated benefits and minimizing possible risks of harm
3. Justice: fairness in the distribution of research benefits and burdens

Read the WSU Guidelines for further information pertaining to the policies and procedures used for the use of human subjects in research.

In designing projects that involve human subjects, candidates need to be aware that Weber State University requires that all proposals be reviewed by the IRB/Human Subjects Committee. Prior to that review, candidates must complete the CITI certification. There is a required online tutorial and course to help you learn your responsibilities in doing research with human subjects. Successfully completing the course will result in a certification of completion which you will include with your WSU IRB proposal.

Complete the following steps to obtain your CITI certification:

1. Visit WSU Human Subjects Training to download the Step-by-Step Guide for CITI Training.
2. Visit citiprogram.org.
3. Complete the registration and the required course, e.g., "Social and Behavioral Research - Basic/Refresher Course."
4. Save a copy of your CITI training certificate.

All projects in which data collection of a minor will occur must complete the IRB process, with both the University and the site (e.g., the school district, and other organizations) where the research is being conducted. 

• Most “regular classroom interventions” are considered exempt, but this is to be determined by the IRB Committee Chair.
• Those projects in which data from voice, video, digital, or image recordings made for research purposes occurs must be reviewed by the College IRB Committee. This is considered an expedited level of review, but the risk to participants is still considered minimal.
• Research with human participants or their data that is not eligible for exemption or expedited review must be reviewed by the University IRB Committee. Protocols requiring full review involve greater than minimal risk, minimal risk activities that do not meet the criteria of the expedited categories, or involve vulnerable subjects requiring additional protections.  

Consent - Only the data of those participants who provide consent may be included in the project. If the participants are minors, you must obtain parental consent and participant assent.

If you have not previously used Cayuse at WSU, you must complete this form first to request access to Cayuse. Account activation takes 72-96 hours. 

Faculty mentor is Principal Investigator (PI) of a student's project. Students are Co-PIs on their own projects.  

The following documents should be uploaded to Cayuse:

• Consent forms & informational letter for participants and guardians
• Surveys/Interviews/Assessments/Observation Protocols to be used in the study
• Current CITI training certificates of all individuals who will have access to the data (PI, Co-PI, and any other investigators)

Departmental approvals are not required for students' projects.

Please check grammatical errors and missing items. Both PI and Co-PI must certify the proposal for review by the IRB Committee.

Please allow two weeks for review.