Connect with the ASU Institutional Review Board team

Are you an ASU student, faculty or staff member who is interested in conducting research involving human subjects but don’t know where to start? We invite you to connect with the ASU Institutional Review Board (IRB) team.

This fall 2025 semester, the ASU IRB Office offers various sessions via ASU Events ranging from protocol submission processes to special topics such as clinical trials. The sessions are open to all ASU faculty, staff and students who are interested in learning more about human subjects research.

To sign up, event links can be found below and will be presented by ASU’s IRB staff.

Coffee Hour with the ASU IRB, Thursday, September 4, 2025

Coffee Hour with the ASU IRB, Monday, October 27, 2025

ASU IRB: Application and Submission Process

An Introduction to Clinical Trials

Are you unable to attend our outreach sessions? You can schedule one-on-one consultations with ASU IRB staff to address your needs. The ASU IRB also provides outreach presentations to departments and specific classes that discuss human subjects research in their curriculum. Contact [email protected] for your individualized (or group) session.

We encourage our researchers to review our IRB FAQ.

 

Who is the ASU IRB?

If you are a student, faculty or staff member whose research involves people (referred to as human subjects), you need to get approval first before you can conduct research. At Arizona State University, this approval comes from the ASU Institutional Review Board (IRB). The ASU IRB checks reviews proposed plan and approves research to protect the rights and welfare of human subjects. Our IRB is a part of ASU’s Research Compliance group, which helps create and enforce university research policies and supports researchers in following these guidelines.

You might wonder why the ASU IRB is important if you’re not in a STEM field. Here’s why, if your research involves interacting with people (such as conducting surveys to gather opinions), collecting and analyzing their information (like survey responses), and using the results for publication or to contribute to general knowledge, it falls under human subjects research as defined by The Common Rule (45 CFR 46). The ASU IRB reviews research proposals from various departments and colleges across the university, including the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, W. P. Carey School of Business and Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation, to name a few.

 

What does the ASU IRB do?

When you submit an IRB application through the Enterprise Research Administration system, it undergoes an initial review process. This review may be conducted by IRB staff, a few individual board members, or by the entire IRB board; depending on the risk to human subjects. During convened board meetings, the board decides whether your submission is approved, needs changes, or is not approved at all. Most research submissions don’t require a full board review. However, if your research is considered "greater than minimal risk," it will need to be reviewed by the full board.

Why is the ASU IRB so important?

To ensure your human subject research gets reviewed quickly, it’s a good idea to work closely with the ASU IRB and make use of the resources they offer. The IRB staff are available to help you with every step, from protocol development, preparation of additional required materials, initial submission through ERA and managing your study after you’ve received approval.

How do you know if your research falls under the “human subjects” definition?

To understand what is meant by human subjects research, we must first understand the federal definitions of "research" and "human subjects" as defined by 45 CFR 46.102. 

Research is a systematic investigation, including research development, testing and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge. To determine if your project is "research," let's break down the definition into two parts:

1. Systemic investigation: generally refers to a methodical approach to the activity. It likely involves a hypothesis, a research question, and a plan to systematically collect and analyze data.
2. Generalizable knowledge: If the proposed study develops or contributes to generalizable knowledge, the systematic investigation adds information and contributes to generalizable knowledge in the field. This can be in the form of a thesis, dissertation, publication, etc.

The main concept here is that if the proposed study’s results will be shared outside of ASU with peers at other institutions and with the general public, then the ASU IRB would consider this a contribution to generalizable knowledge and, therefore, require IRB review.

A Human Subject is a living individual about whom an investigator conducting research:

1. Obtains information or biospecimens through intervention or interaction with the individual and uses, studies, or analyzes the information or biospecimens; or
2. Obtains, uses, studies, analyzes, or generates identifiable private information or identifiable biospecimens

 

Though the key component of this definition is that the individual must be a living person, it is important to understand the other components (which can be reviewed under 45 CFR 46.102). It cannot be overstated that “human subjects research” is research with people. 

For any further questions regarding research involving human subjects please contact us. Email: [email protected]; Phone: 480-965-4387