The Bates College Institutional Review Board (IRB) has been established to approve research projects involving the use of human participants (or source-identifiable biospecimens from human participants). The IRB exists both because Bates wants to ensure that research participants are treated with the utmost respect and safety and because federal law requires that all federally funded research involving human participants receive IRB approval. The research projects concerned include not only standard research but in-class research and community-based research (CBR) projects as well, and extend to journals and photographs, video and tape recordings of participants.

To assist researchers in determining whether their research should be reviewed by the IRB, we have created an online flowchart that will guide you through a series of relevant questions. Responsible use of the flowchart requires honest and complete answers throughout. If at any point you are unsure of the correct answer, please contact the IRB. If you know what you are looking for, please use the menu bar above. Otherwise, please proceed to the flowchart.