What is the role of the HSIRB, and what research must be reviewed?
The primary role of the Human Subjects Institutional Review is to protect the rights and welfare of human research participants. All research involving human subjects must be submitted to HSIRB, even if you believe it is exempt (see “Guidelines for Human Subjects Research at WMU” for a summary of exempted research criteria). Federal regulations define “research” as “a systematic empirical investigation designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge.” Federal regulations define “human subject” as “a living individual about whom an investigator . . .
