Institutional Review Board
About the IRB
The Institutional Review Board (IRB) reviews research protocols involving human subject participants to ensure that the rights of the participants are protected, that they are not subject to unreasonable harm (physical and emotional), and that information about them is kept confidential.
Requests by external investigators to conduct human subjects research using primary or secondary data from Moreno Valley College students, faculty, and/or staff may be made following the Moreno Valley College IRB guidelines and application process.
Defining Research Limits
The term "research" means a systematic investigation, including pilot research, testing, and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge. This includes investigations carried out by faculty, students, staff, or outside investigators for publication and/or presentation and the collection of scholarly materials for these or dissertations. If an investigator is unsure of whether their project constitutes "human subjects research", they should contact the Moreno Valley College IRB Chair at the contact information below.
The following are examples of activities that are NOT human subjects research:
- Data collection for internal departmental, school, or other administrative purposes
- Service surveys administered by college personnel for the purpose of improving or developing new services or programs (as long as privacy/confidentiality is maintained and participation is voluntary)
- Information-gathering interviews where the focus is on things, products, or policies rather than people or their thoughts regarding themselves
- Course-related activities specifically for education or teaching purposes and not intended for use outside of the classroom
- Quality improvement projects
- Publicly available data
For an extensive list of activities that qualify as human subjects research, please see the IRB Guidelines document below. If there is any question whether a project should be submitted to the IRB for approval, contact the IRB Chair.
Contact and Submitting Research Applications
To submit an application for IRB review or for other questions please contact:
Jacob Kevari, Dean of Institutional Effectiveness