Research Participant Policy

Research Participant Policy

All CDM research involving human participants needs to be approved by CDM's Local Review Board (LRB) and DePaul's Institutional Review Board (IRB). Research involving human participants may include faculty research, student projects and courses that teach research methodology or require research projects. For more information on what work needs LRB and IRB approval, see the DePaul Office of Research Protections web page. CDM's LRB consists of members of the CDM Research Environment Committee.

CDM's LRB provides an intermediate review of research proposals in order to assess the potential risk to its participants and the relative value of the research. The LRB then makes a recommendation to the IRB. Generally, the IRB will not receive and accept a research proposal involving human participants without a prior review and recommendation from the LRB.

Most CDM research involving human participants presents only minimal risk to its participants and often qualifies for expedited review (see the DePaul Office of Research Protections web page for guidelines). Expedited review does not require full review by the LRB and IRB before the research can start. An expedited review can often be performed by the LRB and IRB within a week.

Some CDM research may qualify as exempt. For CDM research, these cases often involve collection of anonymous data through surveys. However, researchers seeking an exempt status still need to submit a petition of exemption to the LRB. This petition should document how the research falls under at least one of the categories for exemption. Data collection for exempt research can generally proceed after the LRB has confirmed the exempt status.