Skip to main content

Participant FAQs

  • What is an IRB?

    • The Institutional Review Board (IRB) is a group of people who review and approve human research. The IRB includes professors, doctors, scientists, and people from the local community. They review human research to protect your rights and your welfare before and during the research study. 

  • What is a research study?
    • A research study is an organized activity to learn more about a problem or answer questions. Scientists conduct many different kinds of studies. A research study in which one or more human subjects are prospectively assigned to one or more interventions (which may include placebo or other control) to evaluate the effects of those interventions on health-related biomedical or behavioral outcomes is called a clinical trial. Clinical trials are conducted in phases. The trials at each phase have a different purpose and help researchers answer different questions.
  • Are there benefits to being in a research study?
    • There may or may not be a direct benefit to you if you take part in a research study.  No one can predict what will happen with a research study or how it might affect you. The research study may not help you personally. The research study may result in information that will help others in the future.
  • Are there risks or side effects to being in a research study?
    • Sometimes research procedures and treatments may cause discomfort and bad side effects. The research staff will discuss with you known possible risks, so you can decide if you want to volunteer. If you do volunteer, the research staff will tell you about any new risks that they learn about during the research study for as long as you take part in the research study.
  • What if I do not want to take part in a research study?

    • If anyone asks you to take part in a research study, you have the right to say "no." If you decide to volunteer for a research study, you can change your mind and stop or leave the research study at any time. Your decision will not affect how you are treated.

  • What if I have a concern or complaint about a research study?