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Research Integrity & Compliance Office of Research, Innovation, & Economic Development

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Human Subjects Research

The Institutional Review Board (IRB) reviews human subjects research conducted by Sacramento State researchers to ensure appropriate participant protections.

IRB Steps

  1. Use Decision Tree,
  2. Request access to Cayuse and Start Application,
  3. Complete Training in CITI,
  4. Submit Application in Cayuse,
  5. IRB Review & Approval.
research plus human subjects equals irb review

Do I need IRB review?

There are many activities that are not "research" and many research projects in which humans are not the subject. Use this decision tree to determine if your activity requires IRB review.

IRB Decision Tree

Cayuse Access Request

First-time users will need to request the creation of a profile to access Cayuse. Access should be available within one working day.

Cayuse Access Request

Start Application in Cayuse

Cayuse applications are dynamic documents that can be accessed by the research team and updated over time until it is ready for submission and IRB review. Applications have embedded guidance and links that assist the investigator in the application writing process.

The Cayuse IRB Library contains the Cayuse Log In link, starting and submitting applications, revising after IRB comment, post-approval submissions for modification, and more.

You must be logged into your Sacramento State Microsoft 365 to access SharePoint.

Cayuse IRB Library

Training

Human Subjects Research training certification must be current upon IRB application submission.

Identify one course from the below options that describes your discipline or role as a researcher and use the registration guide below:

  1. Biomedical (faculty, doctoral students, staff, admin), or
  2. Social-Behavioral-Educational (faculty, doctoral students, staff, admin), or
  3. Undergraduate and Masters Students (all undergrads and master's students, regardless of discipline).

Please note: all other course offerings in CITI are not required for IRB review.

CITI Registration Guide

Resources

The IRB provides guidance on various research topics, such as: Demographic questionnaires, Vulnerable and protected populations, Parental consent and child assent, Data security and storage, and much more.

You must be logged into your Sacramento State Microsoft 365 to access SharePoint.

Research Protocol Guidance

Informed Consent Form Templates

Classroom Projects

Students required to complete a research project as part of a course requirement (except for theses/dissertations) within the semester are fully under the supervision of their professor and do not require IRB review. Faculty are encouraged to use the Student Form, when research is about human subjects, and require students to submit these forms for faculty review prior to research commencing. The absence of IRB review does not mean an absence of research ethics.

Student Form for Classroom Project

Cooperative Research

Cooperative Research Agreements should only be considered when a Sacramento State affiliate will be working with an external investigator to conduct research. These agreements should only be entered when both campuses are:

  1. Collecting informed consent,
  2. Collecting data (identifiable or not), and/or
  3. Analyzing identifiable data.

This agreement involves the cooperation of both campuses, and administrators of both IRBs must be included in the communication and routing of this form.

Cooperative Research

External Investigators

If you are not affiliated with Sacramento State and would like to enroll participants from our campus, please email your IRB approval letter and approved informed consent form(s).

Submit IRB Approval Letter