LCC Institutional Review Board Application Instructions
Submission
All faculty, staff, or students who wish to conduct research that will be published outside the university or used for a thesis or business plan that involves human participants and/or the use of animals must submit a Research Approval Request Form as well as supplementary materials such as instruments to be used, a sample of the Informed Consent Form, and Permission to Collect Data Letter (if research participants are from institutions other than LCC) via email to irb@lcc.lt.
Informed consent is required for all research involving human participants. If the research participants are under 16 years of age, parental consent is also required. Here are some documents to help with construct an Informed Consent Form:
Here is a document to help researchers design procedures to keep data secure and maintain confidentiality:
If permission to collect data cannot be obtained without prior IRB approval, IRB approval can be given pending the submission of this document. Researchers cannot start collecting data until final approval is given.
Here is a short video on the instructions for the IRB process.
Review
The application will be reviewed by one-two LCC faculty members and final decisions will be made by the IRB chair. The researcher/applicant will be notified regarding the IRB decision via the email address they supplied within 10 business days (not including university holidays or breaks). If the request is denied, the applicant can revise the request and resubmit online.
Here is a list of common concerns to help the applicants avoid the need for resubmission: Common Concerns.
The IRB chair owns the account information for the IRB system. All submissions and records are archived. Reports and information may be requested via irb@lcc.lt.
Data Collection
The applicant may not begin collecting data until the application has been approved. Data collection must be completed within the time frame indicated in the application.
In accord with the Data Collection and Use Policy, staff and faculty wishing to conduct a survey of LCC students must apply to the Institutional Research Director (IRD). The IRD is responsible for reviewing and approving an annual survey schedule, the design and content of all LCC surveys, and requests for new or one-time student surveys.
Surveys for thesis research are expected to occur in the month of January, and do not require IRD approval to distribute.
Only surveys of students that pertain to the growth and development of the university may be distributed via the LCC student list-serve (with approval of the IRD). In all other situations, participants may be recruited through social media, printed materials such as posters, and personal contact. Requests to recruit participants through the LCC Facebook page, bulletin boards, etc. must be made to the Student Life Assistant (who will check with the IRB chair to make sure the research has been approved).
Updating approved research
Small changes in researchers’ recruiting and procedures (e.g. changes in sample size, additional recruiting site or method) should be reported to IRB through email at irb@lcc.lt for our records.
Continuing research should be updated annually. Use the main text from the original application, but highlight any changes/updates in bold.