Research at Salisbury University

Research Compliance

IRB/Committee on Human Research

Student Research Proposal Worksheet

Answer the following questions as specifically as possible to begin generating the content for your research proposal submission to the IRB/Committee on Human Research.

1. What is your research question?
   1. Please list the scholarly sources that you have reviewed to inform your research question.
   2. If you have completed a full literature review on your topic, please indicate the semester and course for which it was completed.
2.  What instructional or organizational problem does your research question address?
3.  What is your directional hypothesis?
4.  What is your null hypothesis
5.  What is (are) your research method(s)? Are you using more than one method?
6. Is the data you collect quantitative or qualitative? Or does your research involve multiple methods?
7. How will you analyze the data you collect?
8. What tools (e.g., surveys, interviews) do you need in order to carry out your research method?
9.  Who are your subjects?
10.  How will you select your subjects?
11.  How many subjects will you have?
12.  When does your study begin?
13.  When does your study end?
14.  What are the risks to the subjects or other stakeholders in the research?
15.  What are the benefits to the subjects or other stakeholders in the research?
16.  Who needs to receive informed consent forms?
    1.  Subjects?
    2. Teachers?
    3.  Parents?
    4.  Children?
17.  What kind of personal or identifiable information is being collected (name, DOB, grade, etc.)?
18.  How will you protect subject confidentiality?
19.  How will you store and protect the data you have collected?
20.  How long will you keep the data?
21.  Who will have access to your raw data?
22.  Who will have access to your final report?

Peer Review of IRB/Committee on Human Research Proposal

Researcher: ________________________Peer Reviewer:_______________________________

Read your classmate’s IRB/Committee on Human Research proposal as if you are a member of the review board. Answer the questions below and, where the proposal is not sufficient or not clear, make suggestions for improvement.

• Has the researcher sufficiently explained how the subjects will be selected? What questions do you still have about subject selection?
• Who are the subjects of this study? Have the subjects been specifically identified? What are the specific characteristics of the subjects?
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• Are the step-by-step procedures of the study outlined? What steps are missing or not clear to you?
• What are the potential risks to the subjects of this study?
• How will the researcher eliminate or minimize the risks to the subjects? What further steps must the researcher take to minimize risk?
• What steps will the researcher take to ensure confidentiality of the data collected? How will the data be collected and stored? How long will the data be maintained? Who will have access to the data? What happens to the data when it is no longer needed?
• What steps will the researcher take to maintain the anonymity of the subjects?
• Should a parental consent form be required? Is it included in the packet?
• Is the parental consent form clear, easy to read, and free from errors of grammar and punctuation?
• Should a consent form for the subjects be required? Is it included in the packet?
• Is the subject consent form clear, easy to read, and free from errors of grammar and punctuation?
• Is the instrument (survey, etc) included? If so, how would you improve either the content or the style of the instrument?
• From whom would a letter of support be helpful?
• Look at Appendix B from the researcher’s packet. Should this project be exempt, expedited, or subject to full committee review? Why?
• Would you approve this proposal as-is or would you send it back to the researcher for clarification?
• What points would you like the researcher to clarify?
• If this were your IRB/Committee on Human Research proposal, what would you work on in the next week?