Research is Essential to Understanding
As an institution of higher learning, Maricopa Community Colleges supports research as a vital part of increasing understanding of the world we live in; and as a means to enhance the lives of the people residing in our communities and beyond. Our employees and students, as well as external investigators, may be permitted to conduct research that meets certain standards of integrity and purpose that are consistent with the vision of Maricopa Community Colleges.
Role of the Institutional Review Board (IRB)
Human Subjects Research (HSR) is research involving living individuals (by collecting their identifiable private information or identifiable biospecimens) to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge.
The role of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) is to review all proposed HSR research to ensure that individuals are treated ethically, and that their rights and welfare are adequately protected. All research activities involving human participants must be reviewed and approved by the IRB before data collection can begin. Investigators are not allowed to solicit the participation of individuals, nor begin data collection until they have received written approval from the IRB.
The IRB is composed primarily of faculty members from disciplines that involve human participation in research, administrators who have responsibility for research, institutional researchers and board members from the local community.
Maricopa Students Conducting Research
If you are a student of Maricopa Community Colleges who is interested in conducting Human Subjects Research, please contact the IRB Member and Alternate Member on your campus to find out the process for student applications.
Follow the process below to request permission for research involving human participants. If you have questions as to whether your research qualifies as Human Subjects Research (HSR), please contact the IRB Office.
Researchers with IRB Approval from Another Institution
If your study has already been approved by another IRB, then the MCCCD IRB may conduct an administrative review, a faster and simplified process. To start the process, the Principal Investigator (PI) must first submit the Site Authorization Form to irb_office@domail.maricopa.edu to get approval from the colleges/sites. If site approval is granted, then the PI must attach all of the following documents in eProtocol, the online application system:
- Original IRB application
- Official IRB approval letter or email
- Completed Site Authorization Form
- Site authorization approval email
- Consent/assent form
- Recruitment materials (e.g., email messages, fliers)
- Instruments to be administered to the participants (e.g., questionnaires, interview questions)
Note. The PI must provide any additional documents or information requested by the reviewers.
Once you are ready to start this process, follow the steps below.
- Obtain eProtocol Login Information
Request a login ID to access eProtocol from irb_office@domail.maricopa.edu. A login ID needs to be requested for PI and co-PI(s), if applicable. eProtocol will send users two confirmation emails, one with an ID and another with a password. - Submit the IRB Application in eProtocol
Start the application. Once you have made a selection in Study Location, then you will be asked whether your study has been approved by another Institutional Review Board. Please select Yes and then follow these steps:- Click on the Next button to go to the General Checklist section. Complete that section.
- Click on the Previous button to go back to the Study Location section.
- Click on the Attachment link provided.
Researchers Seeking IRB Approval From Maricopa Community Colleges
Follow the process below to request permission for Human Subjects Research (HSR) in Maricopa Community Colleges. Note that research that is not intended to be published or presented at conferences may not require IRB review. Furthermore, internal studies or surveys that are intended for programmatic assessment or enhancement (that are not part of a research study that would be made public) may not require IRB review. If you have questions as to whether your research requires IRB review, send an email to irb_office@domail.maricopa.edu.
Steps for Maricopa Students Conducting Research
Researchers are required to complete the Human Subjects Research training prior to submitting their research for review. Training is available at CITI Program. Please use the Organization Affiliation Maricopa County Community College District for Social-Behavioral-Educational Researchers (note you only need to take the required modules and not the elective modules). The training requires registration but it is provided at no cost to those affiliated with Maricopa Community Colleges. For more information on how to enroll and complete the course, visit CITI Instructions.
Once you have successfully completed the required course, download your HSR training certificate to include in your IRB application.
Researchers must obtain site authorization at the specific college serving as a site for the study. To complete this step, the Principal Investigators need to do the following:
- Download and save the Site Authorization Form.
- Provide detailed information in the required fields of the form. Reviewers will be able to scroll within each reply box to see the full response.
- Send the form as an email attachment to the IRB Member of the college serving as a site for the study. If the study is to be conducted at more than two colleges/sites, then submit this form to the IRB Chair. Scroll down to select the contact from the list of IRB Members and Alternate Members.
- If site authorization is granted, then attach both this form and the approval email as part of their application in eProtocol.
Contact the IRB Coordinator to request a login ID to access the e-Protocol application form. A login ID needs to be requested for PI and co-PI(s). eProtocol will send users two confirmation emails with an ID and password.
As the activities of a research project come to an end, the principal investigator is responsible for submitting a close-out form for non-exempt protocols. A Close-out Form is also required if the investigator is leaving Maricopa Community Colleges.
Important to Know
- Site authorization does not commit the College or District to provide resources or data collection for the investigator(s).
- IRB approval does not commit the College or District to recruit for or participate in the project, nor provide resources or data collection for the investigator(s).
- If a study is approved or authorized by the MCCCD IRB, then a statement to that effect must be included in the recruitment materials and consent/assent form.
- If the IRB disapproves the study, the investigator(s) cannot conduct the study, but they may revise and resubmit the proposal to the IRB.
IRB Members and Alternate Members
| Location/Affiliation/Title | Contact Name | |
|---|---|---|
| Maricopa Community Colleges IRB Chair | Lutfi Hussein | lutfi.hussein@mesacc.edu |
| Chandler-Gilbert Community College | Melissa Tkachyk | melissa.tkachyk@cgc.edu |
| Chandler-Gilbert Community College | Fanny Silvestri | fanny.silvestri@cgc.edu |
| Estrella Mountain Community College | Bill Farrar | bill.farrar@estrellamountain.edu |
| GateWay Community College | Steve Austin | |
| GateWay Community College | Joseph Swaba | joseph.swaba@gatewaycc.edu |
| Glendale Community College | Julie Morrison | julie.morrison@gccaz.edu |
| Glendale Community College | Ladonna Lewis | ladonna.lewis@gccaz.edu |
| Mesa Community College | Lutfi Hussein | lutfi.hussein@mesacc.edu |
| Mesa Community College | Nathan Smith | nathan.a.smith@mesacc.edu |
| Phoenix College | Debbie Webster | deborah.webster@phoenixcollege.edu |
| Phoenix College | Amy Marin | amy.marin@phoenixcollege.edu |
| Paradise Valley Community College | Mary Bankhead | mary.bankhead@paradisevalley.edu |
| Rio Salado College | Monica Nenad | monica.nenad@riosalado.edu |
| Rio Salado College | Aaron Coe | aaron.coe@riosalado.edu |
| Scottsdale Community College | Crystal Morehouse | crystal.morehouse@scottsdalecc.edu |
| Scottsdale Community College | Mitchell Sweet | mitchell.sweet@scottsdalecc.edu |
| South Mountain Community College | George Martin | george.martin@southmountaincc.edu |
| South Mountain Community College | Travis May | travis.may@southmountaincc.edu |
| District Office | Rob Morales | rob.morales@domail.maricopa.edu |
| District Office | Ignacio Molina | ignacio.molina@domail.maricopa.edu |
| Unaffiliated Member | Robert Olding | roboldingphd@gmail.com |
Frequently Asked Questions
All faculty, grants directors and staff who plan to participate in or submit a research or grant proposal should complete the training. Project directors should also complete the training. Institutional researchers are also encouraged, as they may be called upon to assist with data collection and reporting.
It would be helpful for Vice Presidents of instruction, other administrators and managers and executives to become familiar with human subjects research topics. Training provides you with information and tools to work with your faculty and staff as they prepare for research and grant projects on behalf of your college or on joint projects with sister colleges and/or the district office.
The regulations cover human subjects research. The two questions you should ask are; is it human subjects, and is it research?
- Human Subject—As defined by US code 45 CFR 46102(d), a human subject is a living individual about whom an investigator (whether a Maricopa professional or a student) conducting research obtains data through intervention or interaction with the individual or identifiable private information through any means. Intervention means any physical procedures undertaken with the subject or any manipulation of the subject or the subject’s environment for research purposes. If you’re gathering data from or about live people, it is probably human subjects research. Some clear cases which are not “human” are gathering data about people who are dead and gathering secondary data.
- Research—As defined by US code 45 CFR 46102(f), research is gathering information or data in a systematic way to draw generalizable conclusions or otherwise develop or add to a body of knowledge. One way to determine if the project adds to a body of knowledge is if it is going to be published or shared publicly, such as a conference presentation. Publicity does not by itself constitute research though.
If you plan to conduct research that involves human subjects, you will need to submit an application to do so at Maricopa Community Colleges.
If you will use any Maricopa work time, facility, or resources, or plan to publish or make presentations under your Maricopa college affiliation, you need to get IRB approval prior to your research or before the grant project begins.
Yes, all external requests (from individuals, groups, or institutions) must be reviewed by the Maricopa Community Colleges IRB.
No. Joint appointees must submit their proposals to the Maricopa IRB for review.
Only the IRB can make a determination on a proposal (for example, exempt, nonexempt); the investigator or grants project director cannot make the determination. Check with your college IRB representative.
It depends. Many granting institutions now require IRB review before they will consider a proposal. In such a case, the IRB will determine that the project does not involve human subjects research, and you can report that determination in the application so you can move forward with your proposal.
Yes. A faculty member can submit the proposal as the principal investigator, and then list the student as a co-investigator. A student has no legal standing, thus they cannot submit human subjects research applications and/or research proposals as the principal investigator. If the student seeks to publish or present at professional conferences, they are advised that more and more associations and publications are asking for IRB review, and that this review needs to take place prior to gathering any data.
Class projects are typically not considered research and do not fall within the scope of the federal regulations. If an instructor wanted to use the application process as a teaching tool and require all students to submit a protocol, then the faculty could prepare one application for each course (e.g., course #101). If an instructor supervises students who are conducting research as defined above, then their proposals would be submitted individually per the question above.
It depends. Generally, faculty set up the FEP so that it is geared toward self-improvement and as such, do not require IRB review. If you plan to gather data so that you can draw generalizable conclusions you can share with others, then it is considered research and does require IRB review.
Scholarly Teaching, which is used to improve one’s own pedagogy, is not research and does not need review. SoTL work is explicitly designed to draw generalizable conclusions to share with colleagues, so it is research and does require IRB review. Also, if the faculty seek to publish and/or present at professional associations, more and more of these groups are asking for IRB review.
The IRB exists to ensure that the rights of human subjects are protected. If you submit a research protocol to the IRB that meets the Belmont principles of Beneficence, Justice and Respect for Persons, then the IRB will likely approve the use of student or employee data for research purposes.
You should contact any or all of the following persons: IRB Chair, IRB Administrator, CRRC Chair at your college, or the non-Maricopa affiliated IRB member.
In the following situations:
- When you are a co-investigator or project director on a proposal that the IRB will review.
- Your supervisor (or supervisee) is an investigator or project director that the IRB will review.
- You are the dissertation supervisor for a student who is submitting his/her proposal for review.
Another excellent source for answers is the National Science Foundation FAQs on Human Subjects Research. You can also contact IRB with further questions.