Guidelines on USIU Internal Ethical Approval

All USIU research projects involving human subjects for independent faculty researchers, master’s thesis, or doctoral dissertation must be submitted to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) for review.
In order to be considered for this review, the researcher will submit the following documents to the Research Office:
A two-to-five page summary of the proposed research;
The researcher’s assessment or survey forms or a description of a commercially published instrument;
The consent form and a description of how consent will be obtained;
Where applicable, a written statement of approval from the appropriate agency or institution research department or administrator, on official stationery, clearly stating that approval for the proposed research activities has been granted.
For expedited review, statement on why no or minimal risk exists; or for full committee review, statement addressing specific risk concerns. Submittal of the abstract or proposed statement used for reasons other than the IRB petition cannot substitute for documentation needed to support the specific risk concerns that need to be addressed.
Submissions for IRB review should be made after consultations with /approval of the Research Advisor in the case of students and the School’s Dean in case of faculty researchers.The application is made by sending an email to the Administrator at the Research Office: irb@usiu.ac.ke
Research activities involving no more than minimal risk to the subjects may be reviewed by the IRB through the expedited review procedures.
When it is not clear whether the human subjects are at risk, the researcher must follow the procedures applicable for full Committee review.
The Research Office will notify the researcher in writing of the outcome of the review within two weeks of submission.

Guidelines on USIU Internal Ethical Approval

16 February 2019