UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN River Falls
The University of Wisconsin-River Falls is committed to protecting the rights and welfare of persons involved as subjects in research conducted by faculty, staff, and students at UWRF. Any research in which UWRF students are human subjects must also be approved by the UWRF IRB. The UWRF IRB requires that all research conducted by students at UWRF have a UWRF faculty or staff member as the Principal Investigator.
In accord with federal regulations, we have established an Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects (IRB) and a set of policies and procedures to protect research subjects. The IRB and its policies and procedures are based on, and are consistent with, The Belmont Report: Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects of Research, and the Code of Federal Regulations, 45 CFR 46 (July 19, 2018) and the Revised Common Rule (January 20, 2019).
UWRF requires that all faculty, staff, and students who are involved with research on human subjects are trained through the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI). CITI training must be completed BEFORE research protocol will be approved and CITI completion reports for all researchers (faculty, student, and/or staff) must be included with submitted protocols. All researchers conducting research about human subjects must at a minimum complete the Social and Behavioral Research modules via CITI.
Research involving human subjects cannot be initiated by UWRF faculty, staff, or students before it is submitted, reviewed, and approved via Cayuse by the IRB. (see UWRF IRB Policy)
Click on Cayuse IRB to be taken to your dashboard.
Research protocols for any research involving human subjects must be reviewed and approved by the IRB to assure that the rights and welfare of human subjects are protected, and that appropriate methods of obtaining informed consent are utilized. If it is unclear whether your research needs IRB approval, please email irb@uwrf.edu. A UWRF IRB decision tree may help in making this decision.
Research means a systematic investigation, including research development, testing, and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge. Activities that meet this definition constitute research for purposes of this policy, whether or not they are conducted or supported under a program that is considered research for other purposes. For example, some demonstration and service programs may include research activities. For purposes of this part, the following activities are deemed not to be research:
Human subject means a living individual about whom an investigator (whether professional or student) conducting research:
The UWRF IRB will approve the research according to the research categories outlined in the Revised Common Rule.
Sample of Informed Consent for Research Participation Form