New Study Requirements

Before Submitting a New Application

1. Determine the Principal Investigator

Every research study requires a Principal Investigator (PI). At BYU, this person is generally a tenure-track faculty member (SOP 106). This person takes full responsibility for the conduct of the study.

If you are not a tenure-track faculty member but may fall under an exception, a memo of understanding (MOU) must be signed and approved by the Department Chair. The MOU must be uploaded in the PI’s iRIS profile along with a CV and other special license and training documentation. Please use the following MOU templates:

Students cannot be listed as PI.

2. Identify the Research Personnel

Research personnel members are individuals engaged in human subjects research. Identify if research personnel are BYU associates or external collaborators. Determine whether any member of the team has a financial interest related to the research (SOP 104 1.2).

**Individuals are considered engaged in human subjects research if they have contact with human subjects and/or have access to identifiable human subject data. Examples include individuals who:

direct research or serve as the principal investigator for the study
enroll research subjects (including obtaining subjects’ informed consent or screening potential subjects)
make decisions related to eligibility to participate in research
conduct study procedures
are involved with collecting, reporting, or analyzing identifiable subject data

3. Complete Human Subject Protection Training

All research personnel must complete the training for Social & Behavioral Research Investigators/Mentors. This training is valid for 5 years and then must be renewed. Brigham Young University subscribes to the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) for required ongoing education and training in the protection of human subjects in research. Click here for more information about the training.

4. Register in iRIS

To add research personnel to a study they must be registered in iRIS.

5. Develop the Study Protocol

Before initiating an application, researchers must have a clear idea of the study’s objectives, procedures, research subject selection, risks, benefits, recruitment, consent processes, and data security methods.

6. International Research

Research conducted in foreign countries remains under University purview and guidelines. While we do not impose our standards for written documentation on other cultures, we do not relax our standards for ethical conduct of research or a meaningful consent and assent process. If you are conducting international research, please refer to SOP 503 and our International Research Guidance.

Researchers should be informed about data security laws that govern each country/region.

7. Data Use Agreements

A Data Use Agreement (DUA) is a written contract used to govern the transfer of research data between organizations. These agreements can be set up between academic institutions, government agencies, and/or corporate entities. For more information see the Data Security section here.

8. Support Documents

Be prepared to attach several files to your submission. When attaching each file, please be sure to use a name that describes the document (Child Assent, Group A; Parental Permission, Control Group, etc.). In iRIS, be sure to update the date and version of the files. Examples of support documents include: Scientific Review Checklist, MRI Approval, School District Approval, participant instruction form, diagrams and images, etc. For helpful templates and forms click here.