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Institutional Review Board

The purpose of the Institutional Review Board at DePauw University is in part to ensure the rights of human subjects participating in research projects approved by the University. Additionally, the participants must be aware of the protections and the rights afforded to them; it is the responsibility of the IRB to ensure these rights as well. The IRB has the obligation to the federal government that these safeguards are being provided and supported for all federally funded research projects.

The IRB serves to ensure that the autonomy of human subjects is protected, and that humans who are vulnerable such as offenders, children, persons with cognitive deficits, and women who are pregnant receive special protection.

The IRB oversees research proposals to help ensure that there is a just distribution of risks and benefits among research participants and that participation in projects is equally fair for sex, gender, race, age, and other demographics.

The IRB has the responsibility to review and evaluate for approval proposed research that involves human subjects and that is conducted by DePauw University agents and those conducting research who want to use DePauw University students, faculty and staff as research participants. All DePauw researchers must complete CITI training before submitting proposals to the IRB; in so doing, the IRB helps to ensure that the responsibilities outlined above are met for the benefit of human subjects.