Appropriate Compensation for Research Participants

Compensating research participants for their time and effort is common in human subjects research. Compensation can recognize the time, travel, inconvenience, or effort involved in participating in a study. However, compensation should be carefully considered during study planning and clearly described in the materials submitted to the IRB. Researchers should consider whether the proposed compensation

Appropriate Compensation for Research Participants Read Post »

A Beginner’s Guide to IRB Submission

Submitting your first Institutional Review Board (IRB) application can feel overwhelming. Between preparing your study documents, understanding regulatory requirements, and ensuring everything aligns, it’s easy to wonder where to begin. The good news is that with a little preparation, the process becomes much more manageable. Taking the time to organize your study before submitting it

A Beginner’s Guide to IRB Submission Read Post »

Understanding IRB Review Levels for Clinical Studies

Clinical research plays a critical role in advancing healthcare, improving patient outcomes, and evaluating new treatments, devices, and interventions. Whether a study involves testing a medical device, reviewing patient records, or conducting behavioral health research, investigators must ensure that their work complies with ethical and regulatory standards. One of the most important parts of this

Understanding IRB Review Levels for Clinical Studies Read Post »

What Makes an IRB Application Get Approved Faster?

Submitting an IRB application can feel like a waiting game—but in many cases, delays are preventable. While every study is different, there are several consistent factors that help applications move through the review process more efficiently. One of the most important elements is completeness. Applications that are fully developed at submission—rather than missing documents or

What Makes an IRB Application Get Approved Faster? Read Post »

Understanding IRB Termination: What It Means and Why It Happens

At Solutions IRB, we view Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval as more than a regulatory requirement—it is an ongoing partnership focused on protecting research participants and supporting ethical, high-quality research. Our role is not to stand in the way of research, but to help it move forward responsibly and compliantly. Institutional Review Board approval is

Understanding IRB Termination: What It Means and Why It Happens Read Post »

Research Using Secondary Data

When Does It Qualify for Exempt Category 4 Review? Secondary data research is increasingly common across social, behavioral, educational, and health-related fields. Whether analyzing existing datasets, reviewing medical records, or working with previously collected survey responses, researchers often assume that using data that already exists means IRB review is unnecessary—or automatically exempt. In reality, secondary

Research Using Secondary Data Read Post »

Recruitment Requirements for IRB Review

Recruitment is more than a logistical step in preparing a study—it is the very first interaction a potential participant has with the research team. A strong recruitment plan demonstrates respect for individuals, protects privacy, and ensures that the study reaches an appropriate and equitable sample. Because of this, recruitment materials and methods must be reviewed

Recruitment Requirements for IRB Review Read Post »

From Data Use Agreements to Funding Contracts: The Unexpected Items of IRB Review

When preparing your IRB submission, most researchers focus on the obvious materials — protocol, consent forms, recruitment language, and instruments. But many studies are delayed not because of major ethical issues, but because key supporting documents were missing. At Solutions IRB, we see this often: a study is conceptually sound and ethically clear, but it

From Data Use Agreements to Funding Contracts: The Unexpected Items of IRB Review Read Post »

Why IRBs Cannot Retrospectively Review Studies

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) play a crucial role in ensuring ethical and compliant human subjects research. Every IRB review—whether exempt, expedited, or full board—serves one core purpose: to protect participants before any study activities begin. But what happens when a researcher realizes, after collecting data, that IRB approval was required? Can an IRB provide retrospective

Why IRBs Cannot Retrospectively Review Studies Read Post »

External vs. Private vs. Central IRBs: What’s the Difference?

When planning a study that involves human participants, one of the first steps is securing approval from an Institutional Review Board (IRB). Researchers often encounter terms like external IRB, central IRB, and private IRB—sometimes even used interchangeably. While these concepts overlap, they are not identical. Understanding the distinctions can help researchers choose the right partner

External vs. Private vs. Central IRBs: What’s the Difference? Read Post »

Scroll to Top