Institutional Review Board

Palm Beach Atlantic University faculty, students, and researchers are required to follow all guidelines specified by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) policy on the Protection of Human Subjects (Title 45 CFR, Part 46) and the Belmont Report: Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects of Research April 18, 1979) in all research activities requiring human subjects. This includes all projects regardless of whether the funding is internal or external. All research projects involving human subjects will be reviewed and monitored by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) in accordance with the above-mentioned policies. Strict adherence to all regulations is required by law.

Research involving the use of humans as research participants fall under the supervision of the Palm Beach Atlantic University Institutional Review Board (IRB). Here, research is restricted to the systematic investigation of questions designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge, involving the collection of data from or about living human beings. The IRB does not review research utilizing published or publicly available documents or research on elected or appointed public officials or candidates for public office. Research involving the use of animals as research participants falls under the review of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC).

Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects (‘Common Rule’)

The current U.S. system of protection for human research subjects is heavily influenced by the Belmont Report (Links to an external site.), written in 1979 by the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research. The Belmont Report outlines the basic ethical principles in research involving human subjects.

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