Institutional Review Board

Welcome to the Gardner-Webb University Institutional Review Board (IRB). The Gardner-Webb University Institutional Review Board exists to support and monitor the ethical research of undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, and any other researchers requesting and/or requiring supervision.

Please review the following research approval flow chart for an overview of the research approval process at GWU. Completed and signed applications can be sent to [email protected]. Expected timelines related to this process can be found in the Application to Utilize Human Subjects. This application form and supporting templates can be found in the IRB folder in WebbConnect.

GWU Research Approval Flow Chart

Additional Reading

Amdur, R. (2003). Institutional review board handbook. Boston: Jones and Bartlett. Bankert, E.A., & Amdur, R.J. (2006). Institutional review board: Management and function (2nd. ed.).Boston: Jones and Bartlett.

Hilton, E. (2005). Working effectively with and within IRBs: A practical guide for investigators, sponsors, and IRB members. Hagerstown, MD: University Publishing Group.

Office for Human Research Protections

Citi Learner Instructions

The following are basic learner instructions to logon to your CITI site for the first time. Please go to www.citiprogram.org to register for your CITI online training:

• Once there, simply click on “Register.”
• Under “Select your institution or organization” page, please select Gardner-Webb University in the “Participating Institutions” drop down box.
• Next, proceed to create your own username and password and select your Learner Group.
• If you are a College of Education graduate student, please affiliate with the College of Education Research Investigators Learner Group.
• If you are a Hunt School of Nursing graduate student, please affiliate with the Graduate School of Nursing Research Investigators Learner Group.
• If you are a Godbold College of Business graduate student, please affiliate with the Graduate College of Business Research Investigators Learner Group.
• If you are a School of Divinity graduate student, please affiliate with the Graduate School of Divinity Research Investigators Learner Group.
• All other researchers, affiliate with the Learner Group most related to your area of research. Select either the Social & Behavioral Research Investigators Learner Group or the Biomedical Research Investigators Learner Group, whichever is appropriate for your field and type of research project. (If you have questions in determining your type of research, please consult your professor, research advisor, or send email questions to [email protected].)
• If you are participating in research as a class project, you may affiliate with the Researchers Conducting no more than Minimal Risk Research Learner Group. (If you have questions about determining your type of research, please consult your professor, research advisor, or send email questions to [email protected].)
• After going through the brief registration process you will be ready and setup as a CITI Learner under Gardner-Webb’s setup requirements.
• When you have completed all required modules for your chosen Learner Group, please print your certificate of completion and include this document with your IRB application and/or provide it as evidence to your professor.

For questions related to using human subjects in research and the application to utilize human subjects process, email the Institutional Review Board Office – [email protected].

For animal research, or other research not involving human subjects, complete the Animal Welfare Research/Purchase Protocol form found in the Faculty Forms folder in WebbConnect.

Best wishes with your research!

Full Review Due Dates

If you or your faculty research advisor anticipate that your study requires full IRB review, please note the following deadlines for Spring 2024. As a reminder, level of review comes in the form of a recommendation from the faculty research advisor but is determined by the IRB office. If you have questions about the level of review of your proposed study, contact [email protected].

Obtaining permission to access GWU students or other personnel for outside research

1. Submit request via email to [email protected]. Request should include signed and approved IRB Application from sponsoring institution. This includes IRB approval for researchers internal to Gardner-Webb. Document should be sent as email attachment in .pdf or .doc format.
   
2. When required details have been provided, the request will be sent to the Chair of the IRB. The IRB Chair will submit the request to the appropriate office(s) on campus, e.g. Vice President for Student Development for student access and Vice President for Planning and Institutional Effectiveness for faculty/staff access. The appropriate Vice President will then consult with other appropriate personnel, e.g. Associate Provosts, Vice President for Athletics, Dean of GBP School of Graduate Studies, Dean of The Degree Completion Program, Dean or Chair of Academic Departments, Director of Human Resources, etc.
   
3. Upon receipt of approval or denial of request for access, the IRB Chair will contact researcher and, if necessary, provide further instructions.