IRB Guidance & Best Practices

• Distribution of Research Advertisements by Non-UMD Investigators
• Email Communication Requirements
• Emergency Preparedness
• Generative AI
• Investigator Handbook (PDF)
• Letters of Organizational Support
• MTurk Tip Sheet (PDF)
• Preventing Bots and Imposter Participants (PDF)
• Translations
• Waivers of Consent
• What is Deception? (PDF)
   

• Non-UMD investigators may use flyers approved by their IRB to recruit UMD-affiliated individuals for research participation, so long as it adheres to the University Policy and Procedures for the Use of Facilities and Outdoor Spaces (see Section VIII., Additional Rules for the Posting of Written Materials on Campus). 

• Non-UMD investigators may contact individual departments to request distribution of recruitment materials at the discretion of the department. 

The UMD IRB does not have the ability or authority to provide access to student emails. For these inquiries, please contact the UMD Registrar’s Office.

• UMD policy states that email sent by UMD personnel must be sent using an approved UMD institutional email system. All IRB materials should list either the PI's UMD email address or a shared UMD email account for the lab/project.
• UMD Policy on Email Communication
• Instructions for Creating a Shared UMD Email Account
   

The UMD Human Research Protection Program (HRPP) has a robust emergency preparedness plan to ensure the protection of research participants and continuity of activities during emergencies (e.g. pandemics, extreme weather, fires, cyber-attacks).

The Emergency Preparedness Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and Emergency Preparedness Guide include information on plan activation, communication, and plan maintenance.

For additional information on emergency preparedness, please see the UMD Office of Emergency Management & Business Continuity site.

• Use of generative AI must adhere to the University's data classification standards for the AI service being used.
  • NOTE: ChatGPT Enterprise is different from ChatGPT Free and ChatGPT Plus. DIT currently does not recommend the usage of ChatGPT Free or ChatGPT Plus
• Some generative AI services have a low data classification per DIT, meaning they are only approved for up to 'Level 1' data. This means that if investigators will input participant data into that generative AI or if participants will interact with generative AI during the research, there must be a statement in the Consent Form or prior to interacting with the generative AI such as:
  • Your interactions with AI as part of this study may become publicly available.
  • Your anonymized responses may become publicly available.
     

• If collaborating with an outside entity such as a nursing home, school, community center, or other organization to conduct the research, specifically if data collection will be done in-person at that location, researchers must provide documentation of support from the organization indicating that the organization is aware of and supports the research activities.
• Letters of support should be provided on institutional letterhead, if possible.
• Documentation of support can be provided via email.  However, the documentation must originate from an official organization email address and include the approving individual's title within the organization. Personal email correspondence is not accepted.
   

• If you anticipate that your study may enroll non-English speaking participants, you must indicate in the IRB Application that non-English speakers will be enrolled, and the IRB must approve this request before you can enroll non-English speakers.
• Also, please clarify who will be conducting the consent process/translating the consent form, their qualifications for doing so (e.g. native speaker, professional translator) and how this person will communicate with non-English speakers.
• Copies of both English and non-English language versions of participant-facing materials (e.g. recruitment, consent, survey/interview questions) must be submitted and approved by the IRB before their use with participants.
   

• What are Waivers? (PDF)
• Example Waiver of Parental Consent (College Students) (PDF)