There are two IRB related requirements that must be met prior to running experiments in the LEMA lab.
First, you need to have completed the IRB training. This is a requirement of Penn State. To obtain this training, visit the CITI Program Courses at Penn State website (http://citi.psu.edu/) and seek the Social and Behavioral Human Subjects Research (IRB) Course. You must successfully pass this course with a score of at least 80%.
Second, experiments to be ran in the LEMA lab by a Penn State affiliate must have Penn State IRB approval even if exempt. Penn State affiliates include faculty, staff, students and long-term visitors. IRB approval can be obtain through Penn State’s Centralized Application Tracking System Institutional Review Board (CATS IRB). For the typical LEMA lab experiment, the IRB approval/exemption decision depends on the following forms and documents:
- HRP – 591 – Protocol for Human Subject Research (example)
- HRP – 509 Study Team Member Qualification (example)
- Informed Consent Form for Social Science Research (example)
For updated versions of the official IRB templates of these forms, visit the IRB Library. Note that the IRB reviewer will require additional information depending on your experiment and you will not obtain IRB approval unless all researchers who are part of the experiment have completed the IRB training successfully.
For further details on getting started with the IRB process, visit this website https://www.research.psu.edu/irb/process. Questions about this process will be best answered by IRB staff.
IRB Office Contact:
The 330 Building, Suite 205, University Park, PA 16802
Phone: 814-865-1775
Fax: 814-863-8699
Email: irb-orp@psu.edu