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Guide to Student Research


UTEP STUDENT CLASSROOM RESEARCH CHECKLIST
IRBNet

Any UTEP faculty or staff who proposes to engage in research activity involving human subjects at UTEP must submit their project for review by the Institutional Review Board.

All student research activities are supervised by a faculty member. Some types of student research activities may not require IRB review beyond faculty supervision. UTEP supports a wide range of both undergraduate and graduate student research projects using human subjects.

Independent research projects employ systematic investigation, including research development, testing and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge. Theses, dissertations, and honors research projects involving human subjects always require review by the IRB.

Investigations designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge:

  • draw general conclusions
  • inform policy
  • or generalize findings beyond a single individual or an internal program.

While this research is often shared through scholarly publication or presentation of the data, research results need not be published or presented to qualify as research. The intent to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge makes it research, regardless of publication.

Research projects for which the overriding and primary purpose is a learning experience in the methods and procedures of research does not meet the federal definition of research and is generally not subject to IRB review/approval.

Curriculum projects in which students conduct research involving human subjects need not be reviewed by the IRB if the following conditions are satisfied:

  1. The project involves minimal risk to subjects (the risk of harm is not greater than those ordinarily encountered in daily life or during the performance of routine physical or psychological examinations or tests). A
  2. The project does not involve sensitive topics or confidential information that could place a participant at risk if disclosed. B
  3. The project does not involve persons from vulnerable populations as participants. C
  4. The project must involve the voluntary participation of individuals without any coercion or pressure being placed upon them by the researcher. Though not required, it is recommended that instructors/students consider providing a consent document to participants and fully informing them of the research they will be taking part in.
  5. The results of the project will never be distributed outside the classroom and/or institutional setting or used for publication, although the results may be presented to instructors or peers for educational purposes or as part of a class assignment.

A) Minimal Risk

Student research projects that fit the categories below are generally considered minimal risk.

  1. Research conducted in an educational setting involving normal education practices, such as research that examines or compares regular and special education curriculum including but not limited to instructional strategies/techniques, curricula, or classroom management methods.
  2. Research involving the use of educational tests, survey procedures, and interview procedures.
  3. Observation of public behavior if confidentiality or anonymity is maintained.
  4. Research with subjects who are elected or appointed public officials or candidates for public office‐regardless of whether the subjects may be identified, or the information is sensitive.
  5. Research on individual/group characteristics or behavior in such areas as perception, cognition, motivation, identity, language, communication, cultural beliefs or practices, social behavior, etc. if confidentiality or anonymity is maintained.
  6. Research employing oral history, focus group, program evaluation, human factors evaluation, or quality assurance methodologies.
  7. Collection of data from voice, video, digital, or image recordings for research purposes.
  8. Research involving the collection or study of existing data, documents, records, pathological specimens, or diagnostic specimens, if one of the following is true: the sources are publicly available, or the information is recorded by the investigator in a way that subjects cannot be directly or indirectly identified.

B) Sensitive Topics

Any interview, survey or questionnaire that proposes to investigate opinions, behaviors, and/or experiences regarding, but not limited to, any of the following sensitive topics requires IRB approval:

  • sexual orientation, incest, rape, sexual molestation, deviant sexual behaviors, or attitudes regarding sexual conduct (pedophilia, bestiality, etc.), practices of contraception, abortion and/or pregnancy
  • substance use and/or abuse including, but not limited to, alcohol, marijuana, steroids, amphetamines, narcotics, and any prescription medication legally or illegally obtained.
  • questions regarding mental health (e.g., suicide, depression, obsessive compulsive behaviors including, but not limited to, gambling, smoking, eating, etc.)
  • traumatic experiences of an individual, including war or combat experiences of veterans

C) Vulnerable Populations

May include:

  • pregnant women
  • fetuses
  • children (except for observational studies)
  • prisoners
  • persons at high risk of incarceration or deportation
  • persons with impaired decision making
Projects involving such subjects require IRB approval prior to beginning the research.
Training

Each academic department and faculty member has the responsibility for:

  1. assessing whether student projects/classroom activities involving human participants meet eligibility for review or exclusion from IRB review;
  2. overseeing these activities; and
  3. assuring that ethical principles are adhered to in the conduct of those activities.

Faculty advisors of both undergraduate and graduate students must be certified to conduct research with human subjects. IRB Training Certification is offered through CITI.