Institutional Review Board (IRB): Permissions

 Email us at irb@ncu.edu

 Attend daily Office Hours

• Mondays at 8-9am PT
• Tuesdays at 1:30-2pm PT
• Wednesdays at 2:30-3pm PT
• Thursdays at 1-2pm PT
• Fridays at 2-2:30pm PT

You will need to obtain external permission if you plan to do any of the following:

• Recruit in a closed and/or moderated social media group (go to "Contact Permission" below)
• Recruit from the private contact list of an organization, school, or business (go to "Contact Permission" below)
• Use the private resources of an organization, school, or business to recruit or collect data (go to "Site Permission" below)
• Use the private resources of a school or organization that has its own IRB (go to "IRB/HRPP" below)
• Utilize a government or military site (go to "Government and Military site" below)
• OR Recruit and/or collect data on-the-ground in a country other than the United States (go to "International Research" below)

Many NCU students also hold professional roles in other organizations that serve as sites for studies. They may be employed at a site designated to be part of a study. Your role as an NCU researcher is completely separate from any roles you may hold at the site. Access to people, resources, or data files you may hold in your non-NCU role does not translate into permission to use that same access for your NCU research.

Please attend daily Open Office Hours to determine if you need permission.

When can I start obtaining these permissions?

If permission is needed for your study, you should make plans to obtain this permission before submitting your IRB application. Do not wait until DIS9903A to begin the process of obtaining permissions.

In fact, as you are developing your dissertation proposal, you should reach out to your site to make sure that what you are proposing is feasible.

You will need to obtain contact permission if a person/place/organization is going to provide you with a private list of contact information (such as email addresses) or you are planning to recruit in a private or closed social media group.

You can obtain contact permission as an email or message on social media. This permission should include the following information:

• Name of place or person providing the contact information and title
• Group name (if applicable)
• Their email contact
• A detailed list of what they are going to provide.

You will take a picture of this permission and upload it to your IRB application.

You need site permission if you will be utilizing any resources from a study site, such as physical, structural, or personnel resources. For example, if you are going to step foot on a Native American reservation or give interviews on a college campus, you would need to obtain site permission. Another example would be if a school district or business is going to do something for you, such as send recruitment materials on your behalf, allow you to use a room for your research, or let you recruit at a staff meeting.

You can obtain site permission as an email or letter. Site permission should include the following and must align with your recruitment materials and consent letter:

• Name of person providing permission, their contact information, and their title
• Eligibility/inclusion criteria for your participants
• List of research activities expected of the participants
• Any additional requests that you need the site to do for your study (e.g., distribute recruitment materials)

You will upload this site permission to your IRB application.

If you're using the resources of a research site, you should check whether that site has their own IRB, HRPP, research ethics board, or similar committee. If the research site has its own IRB, HRPP, or IRB-equivalent, you should reach out to that office early in your research development to determine their process and to determine if your study will be feasible. You may need to submit an application to that office, in addition to the NCU IRB. 

When more than one IRB is involved in a study, one IRB will be recognized as the lead IRB/IRB of record and will have the regulatory responsibility for the conduct of the study. An Institutional Authorization Agreement may also be needed between the NCU IRB and the IRB, HRPP, or IRB-equivalent.

In your IRB application, you will upload your approval letter from the IRB, HRPP, or IRB-equivalent or any communication/policy from them indicating that you need NCU IRB approval first or that you do not have to submit through their office.

If you plan to do research utilizing a government or military site, contact AHRPO at usarmy.ncr.hqda-otsg.mbx.otsg-ahrpo@mail.mil as soon as you are considering this option. You should contact AHRPO during DP development and chapter 1.

If plan to do research with the Navy, please contact Dr. Nancy Dawood, Department of Navy Human Research Protections Program (DONHRPP) Deputy Director, at nancy.d.dawood.civ@mail.mil.

• Site Permission Template (optional)