Faculty Research

Faculty members at the beginning of a research project should follow the outline below. Other questions may be answered by the FAQs page or may be emailed directly to the IRB.

I. Determine if an IRB review is needed.

Faculty typically are involved in the following research activities:

A. Student class assignments:  Is IRB approval necessary for this class project? Take our simple quiz to determine whether the project needs IRB oversight. 

B. Student master's theses and dissertations:  Master's theses and dissertations that involve human subjects or secondary/archival data require IRB review.

C. Faculty-led research projects:  Self-directed faculty research involving human subjects always requires IRB review.

II. View the Avoiding Pitfalls link under Resources on our home page.

A. Many times, simple modifications to a design can prevent delays (or the need for resubmittal) in the application process. Reading through the Avoiding Pitfalls section reduces this likelihood.

III. Once you have completed the above steps, you are ready to complete our IRB Application.

A. Your form will need your original signature as Primary Investigator to be considered complete. Please see the application form instructions for more information on this step.

IV. Submit the IRB Application Form according to the Application instructions.

Please submit your application via email to irb@liberty.edu.

Please feel free to follow up with the IRB in two weeks if you have not heard anything. For full review submissions (the most complex category) follow up in one month if you have not heard anything.