Human subjects research basics
What to know about obtaining approval at KU for research involving human subjects
Are you planning to conduct human subjects research?
Research involving human subjects must be approved by the HRPP.
Examples of activities that require HRPP review:
- Biological specimen collection
- Educational interventions
- Interviews
- Physical data collection
- Pilot studies
- Secondary research on previously collected human data
- Surveys
Definitions
Human subjects
A human subject is a living individual about whom an investigator obtains data through intervention or identifiable data/records.
Research
Research is a systematic investigation — including research development, testing and evaluation — designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge.
HRPP review process
Submit applications electronically through eCompliance.
Upload all necessary documents:
- KU human subjects research protocol form
- Recruitment materials (emails, flyers, etc.)
- Consent forms
- Study measures (e.g., survey questions)
Education + training
Required human subjects training
All study personnel must complete online ethics training prior to engaging in human research. Training, provided by CITI Program, is valid for 3 years.
Final Friday Ethics Hour
Join HRPP on Zoom at 11:30 a.m. on the final Friday of each month. These informal sessions on current topics are open to all KU-Lawrence human subjects researchers.
Collaborative research
Does your human subjects research project involve study personnel outside of KU?
- If your study team includes members from another institution with an HRPP, your project may require an institutional agreement to document the IRB responsible for overseeing the research.
- If you will have study team members outside of KU who are not subject to oversight of an HRPP, they will be asked to sign an Individual Investigator Agreement to abide by the KU-Lawrence human subjects program.
Other contact methods
Download infographic
Access the information on this webpage in infographic form. Choose from the digital version of HRPP Basics with links to related web content or HRPP Basics for Printing, which includes a QR code that leads to the HRPP website.
