Institutional Review Board
Mission Statement
Troy University's Institutional Review Board (IRB) functions as the Institutional Review Board (IRB) for the entire Troy State University system. Institutional Review Boards are committees mandated by the National Research Act, Public Law 93-348, to be established within each university or other institution that conducts biomedical or behavioral research. The major function of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) is to ensure protection of the rights of human subjects who participate in research endeavors conducted by TROY faculty, professional staff, and students. The policies and regulations of the IRB are guided by federal rules and regulations, and are based on the Protection of Human Subjects Code of Federal Regulation, and the Belmont Report. According to 45CFR 46 - Protection of Human Subjects, at institutions receiving federal funds, all research involving human participants must be reviewed and approved by an IRB.
In reviewing research proposals, the IRB performs an assessment of risks and anticipated benefits that involves:
- identifying the risks associated with the research, as distinguished from the risks the participants would encounter even if not participating in research;
- determining that the risks will be minimized to the extent possible;
- identifying the probable benefits to be derived from the research;
- determining that the risks are reasonable in relation to the benefits to research participants, if any, and the importance of the knowledge to be gained;
- assuring that potential participants will be provided with an accurate and fair description of the risks or discomforts and the anticipated benefits; and
- determining intervals of periodic review, and, where appropriate, determining that adequate provisions are in place for monitoring the data collected.
In addition, the Institutional Review Board will determine the adequacy of the provisions to protect the privacy of research participants and to maintain the confidentiality of the data, and where the participants are likely to be members of a vulnerable population, determine that appropriate additional safeguards are in place to protect the rights and welfare of these research participants.
