All research involving human participants conducted by faculty, staff, or students of UA Little Rock must be reviewed by the UA Little Rock Institutional Review Board (IRB).
The IRB operates according to the guidelines in the Code of Federal Regulations (45 CFR 46) and other state and institutional guidelines.
Holiday Announcements
Thanksgiving Deadline
The Office of Research Compliance will be closed from November 27 to November 29.
Please be advised that November 21, 2025, is the deadline for all protocol submissions this semester. Protocol submissions received by the deadline will still be processed.
Christmas Deadline
The Office of Research Compliance will be closed starting December 23, 2025, through January 1, 2026. We will reopen on January 2, 2026, after the holiday break. Please be advised that our office will not process any new protocols for the entire month of December. We will continue processing current protocols until December 12, 2025.
Our office will resume accepting new protocol submissions on January 20, 2026. If you have any questions about the deadlines this semester, please contact us at [email protected].
IRB Review Process
Step One: Protocol Completion
Complete your IRB request for review. If you are a student, work closely with your advisor to fill out your protocol form.
Step Two: Submit Protocol to IRB
Submit your request, documents, and CITI training course completion reports (Human Subjects and Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)) to [email protected].
Step Three: Estimated Decision Date
You will receive IRB reviewer feedback in 10 business days.
Step Four: Decisions
You will receive one of the following possible IRB decisions below:
- Approved
- NHPR
- Further Review
- Full Board
Please note that an IRB decision is required before contacting participants or beginning data collection. To learn more details, visit IRB Review Process.
Protocol Guidance
Start by accessing and completing our Request for Protocol Review form. The Request for Review form also serves as a Request for Determination form.
Please follow the instructions below to successfully complete your request form:
- The Request for Protocol Review form must be typed.
- Answer all questions completely.
- Submit a digitized copy in PDF format. Scans are not acceptable. The text in the submission needs to be clear and not blurry.
- The Request for Review form must be signed by the PI. If the PI is a student, the student’s advisor must also sign it.
- If the proposed research is externally funded, provide the grant or contract title and funding agency.
- Attach the PI’s Human Research and Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) CITI Training Completion Report.
- If PI is a student, also attach the advisor’s Human Research and Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) CITI Training. CITI certificates are valid for three (3) years.
Please follow the instructions below to submit a digital copy of your protocol.
- In Word, go to the File tab located on the upper left side of your screen.
- -> File -> Save As
- When the file dialog box opens, under ‘file name’ find ‘Save as type’ or ‘File Format’.
- In ‘Save as type’ or ‘file format’, through the drop-down menu under ‘Save as type’ or ‘File Format’, find the PDF (*.pdf).
- Choose PDF (*.pdf) as the file type or File Format and save the document. Submit the PDF document for review.
- Make sure that the PDF document includes the protocol and all attachments. Please do not send multiple attachments.
For studies where information is collected from subjects using questionnaires, interviews, or surveys, please refer to the attachment list below.
Attachment list:
- Consent Forms and/or Assent Forms (for children between the ages of 7 and 17).
- If no consent form will be used, clearly explain how the informed consent process will work.
- If a waiver of the consent form will be requested, clearly explain the circumstances for the request according to the federal regulations available in the Code of Federal Regulations, 45 CFR 46.116.
- Site Letter of Permission of Support (if any of the research is conducted at a location other than UA Little Rock).
- Recruiting Material (recruiting scripts, flyers, announcements, etc.).
- The questionnaire, survey, etc. If the survey will be administered electronically, submit screenshots of the finished questionnaire(s)/survey instrument(s).
- The collection of data may not begin until the UA Little Rock IRB gives formal approval.
- The submission (protocol and as many of the attachments as possible) must be in digital PDF format and be searchable. Scans do not fit this criterion.
Helpful Links
For more information, please contact the Office of Research Compliance at [email protected].