Faculty Research Preparatory Steps

Before beginning research, faculty must complete the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) Program, submit an application detailing protocols, create consent materials, and collect demographic data.

CITI Training

Before submitting your application, investigators must have completed the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) program.

The PI is responsible for ensuring that study personnel who work with human participants data have current CITI training certification. Certification must be renewed every 5 years. If this is your first time using CITI, register and select Rhode Island College as your affiliation.

You will then be able to select the coursework to complete. The required training module must be one of the following from Question 1, as appropriate for the research in this application:

• Biomedical Research Investigator
• Social & Behavioral Research Investigator
• IRB Members
• Students conducting no more than minimal risk
• Or research with data or laboratory specimens only. 

Detailed Instructions on CITI Training Registration

Submitting Your Protocols via Application

Protocols must be submitted online using the TOPAZ system. Once the protocol has been submitted, please plan on the reviews taking a minimum of 3 weeks, and plan accordingly. Reviews that require revisions or that require review by the full board will take longer.

TOPAZ Reference Materials

• Getting Started with TOPAZ
• Quick Reference: Creating a Protocol
• Quick Reference: Viewing Approved Protocols
• Troubleshooting TOPAZ

Creating Your Consent Materials

Please use these examples to ensure that your consent materials meet the federal standards for required information. It is important to use these as a guide and to make sure that you develop your consent using the template. As a tip, once you have created your consent forms make sure to save those consent forms in Word without all the markup and comments from the template showing. 

Consent Standards and Templates

• Adult consent template
• Parental permission template
• Child assent template
• Sample debriefing statements​​​​

Sample Consent Materials in Spanish and Portuguese

Spanish and Portuguese consent examples are provided here to use as guides when translating your IRB documents:

• Adult Consent Template - Spanish
• Parental Permission Template - Spanish
• Child Assent Template - Spanish​​​​
• Adult Consent Template - Portuguese
• Parental Permission Template - Portuguese
• Child Assent Template - Portuguese​

Please Note: These are just examples and when translating your documents you should think of your specific audience and documents should be translated by a native language speaker or a certified translator.

Research Considerations During COVID-19

As we enter a new phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, on-campus research no longer requires approval from Health Services, or the contract tracing protocols that were used during the past year. We recommend that researchers continue to take precautions, especially those conducting research with people where close proximity occurs.

Collecting Inclusive Demographic Data

Collecting demographic information in our studies often serves an important purpose and helps to describe the sample. However, all too often researchers collect demographic information without considering how these questions may be perceived by participants and if this information is really needed.

In order to uphold the Belmont Report’s ethical principles of respect for persons, beneficence, and justice, researchers should be thoughtful about the demographic questions they ask and strive for inclusivity in the way those questions are worded.

Inclusive Demographic Data Collection provides researchers with guidance on how to collect demographic data from participants in an inclusive, representative way. The IRB at RIC strongly suggests that you follow these recommendations. Please contact the chair if you have any questions about this document.