IRB Introduction and Research Limitation

The Institutional Review Board (IRB) at the University of Denver (DU) is responsible for protecting the rights and
safety of individuals participating in research projects that involve human subjects. Currently, the IRB requires
training and board approval for any project that is intended to be published outside of the classroom setting and that
identifies a subject/participant by name or that involves manipulating a subject’s environment.

For the purposes of this class, you will be limited in the field research you conduct. The first limitation is that the
research that you conduct is limited to interviews, observation, and/or anonymous surveys of fewer than 100
participants. The second limitation is that the research that you conduct is at the discretion of the instructor. This
means that research questions and procedures need to be approved by your instructor before you administer them.

You must abide by the following guidelines at all times. Your questions or observations related to this research
cannot include anybody who cannot provide legal consent including those under institutional care such as prisons or
nursing homes; those less than 18 years of age; or those who are mentally or physically disabled. Additionally, you
cannot ask questions of participants or observe behavior for the purposes of your research that involve illegal
activities, sexuality or sexual experiences, or drug use. You cannot manipulate an environment so as to create any
risk to you or the participants. Finally, you cannot conduct an observation, interview, or survey in which “the risks
of harm anticipated in the proposed research are not greater, considering probability and magnitude, than those
ordinarily encountered in daily life or during the performance of routine physical or psychological examinations or
tests” (IRB website, DU).

In order to ensure the policies set forth by IRB, any research project involving interviews or case studies will have to
include signed IRB Interview Permission when the project is handed in, or the project will not be accepted. For
research involving polls or surveys, an IRB Survey/Questionnaire/Poll Statement must be included on all
survey/poll/questionnaire instruments, or the project will not be accepted.

Not only will you be responsible for following the limitations to research, but you will have to abide by the
University of Denver Code of Student Conduct. Thus, in any research endeavor, you are representing the University
of Denver, and you will be expected to be civil, responsible, and maintain integrity.

If at any time you observe the a violation of these procedures, you should contact your instructor, or Susan Sadler,
Chair, Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects, at 303-871-3454, or Sylk Sotto-Santiago,
Office of Sponsored Programs at 303-871-4052.

IRB Survey/Questionnaire/Poll Statement

The following passage must be read or printed on every survey or poll you conduct:
By completing the following questions, you are also granting consent for this information to be used as part of a
research exercise that I am completing for my WRIT class at the University of Denver. Your participation is
completely voluntary. The information you provide may be used in a class project. While profile information may
be included in my writing project (i.e. your age, gender, class standing, etc.), your name will NOT be used. If at
any time you do not want to answer a question, you do not have to.

IRB Interview Permission

The following permission form must be signed and handed in with each project that includes any interviews you
conduct as part of your research. Furthermore, permission must be attained for any observational data obtained from
spaces the public is not normally allowed:
By signing on line "a", you are granting consent for this information to be used as part of a research exercise that I
am completing for my WRIT class at the University of Denver. Your participation is completely voluntary. The
information you provide may be used in a class project. By signing on line "a", you acknowledge that your identity
and the identity of the organization will remain confidential and will be known only by me and my professor.

a. _____________________________________ ______________
(signature) (date)

_____________________________________
(phone / email)