IR Research Requests

Institutional Review Board (IRB)
 

The Institutional Review Board (IRB) is a committee established at Gateway Community College (GCC) to ensure that any research conducted at the college, which is not authorized by the management, will support the effective functioning of the college. The most common research reviewed by IRB is the collection of data from GCC students for doctoral dissertation.

All research requests must be approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB), regardless of the funding source or location, and prior to initiating any portion of the activity.

Criteria for the Research Certified by the IRB

There are four criteria that the IRB uses to assess any research proposal for certification. First, the well-being of the research participants must be protected. In other words, the research cannot and should not harm the research participants psychologically or physically. If there is any risk involved, the researcher must provide an effective plan to ensure that the participants are not harmed.
 
Second, the research should be supportive of GCC’s institutional interest. Of course, different stakeholders have different interests. That is why a committee of members with different professional experiences and expertise will assess the research proposal with the intention that the core institutional interest will be protected.
 
Third, the proposal should demonstrate academic research value. Since GCC is an academic institution, the research purpose should be aligned with its academic setting. In other words, we do not support research that uses the student/ employee data for promoting commercial interests.
 
Fourth, the research proposed should not interfere with the activities or schedule of institutional research.  Institutional research is the type of formal research carried out by the Office of Institutional Research, authorized by the college management for the purpose of supporting institutional effectiveness. Thus, institutional research is set for higher priority over any other kinds of research.
 
The IRB cannot compel anyone in the institution to participate or not participate in any research project.
 
Click here to view or print downloadable version of the Request Form for Research Approval.

Requests should be emailed to the Director of Institutional Research, Vincent P. Tong, Ph.D., at .

For more information about the federal policy for protection of human research subjects, please visit https://www.hhs.gov.

The Composition of IRB

Currently, the IRB has the following five members:
 
Vincent P. Tong (Chair), Director of Institutional Research
Lorraine Li, Professor of Economics
Roberta Prior, Director of Retention Services
Lawrence Salay, Director of Informational Technology
Jamicia Lackey, Institutional Research Specialist

Procedure

As soon as the IRB Chair receives the research proposal, a meeting will be convened to discuss its status. Each IRB member will have an equal vote and the research certification will be determined by the simple majority of all votes. The research investigator should expect a response within 30 days via email.