If you believe that you might qualify for an exemption, you must submit an application for a New Study to the IRB via the electronic submission system, eIRB. The application does not need to specify that you believe the research may qualify for an exemption, as the IRB will make this determination based on the information provided within your submission.  Failure to request IRB review, even if it turns out that you are entitled to the exemption, would be considered non-compliance.

New Exempt Categories

The Code of Federal Regulations (45 CFR 46.101 b) have developed new exempt categories, effective January 21st, 2019. The biggest changes to affect the SBER IRB include the following new exempt categories:

1. Benign behavioral interventions (Category 3)
2. Storage or maintenance for secondary research for which broad consent is required (Category 7)
3. Secondary research for which broad consent is required (Category 8)

Additionally, secondary data (Category 4) does not have to be restricted to retrospectively collected data. Data collected in an ongoing manner are included.

What does this mean for you? If your research falls within one of the above exempt definitions, your research will be reviewed as exempt. These new definitions will be in effect for all federally funded research beginning January 21, 2019. Due to the potential for conflicts of interest, the Office for Human Research Protection continues to recommend that researchers not make the determination of whether research is exempt. Therefore, Tufts will continue implementing an exempt review process as it currently stands.

Categories

Research may be exempted from regular IRB review if it meets one of the following definitions:

Category 1: Research, conducted in established or commonly accepted educational settings, that specifically involves normal educational practices that are not likely to adversely impact students’ opportunity to learn required educational content or the assessment of educators who provide instruction. This includes most research on regular and special education instructional strategies, and research on the effectiveness of or the comparison among instructional techniques, curricula, or classroom management methods.

Category 2: Research that only includes interactions involving educational tests (cognitive, diagnostic, aptitude, achievement), survey procedures, interview procedures, or observation of public behavior (including visual or auditory recording) if at least one of the following criteria is met:

(i) The information obtained is recorded by the investigator in such a manner that the identity of the human subjects cannot readily be ascertained, directly or through identifiers linked to the subjects;
(ii) Any disclosure of the human subjects’ responses outside the research would not reasonably place the subjects at risk of criminal or civil liability or be damaging to the subjects’ financial standing, employability, educational advancement, or reputation; or
(iii) The information obtained is recorded by the investigator in such a manner that the identity of the human subjects can readily be ascertained, directly or through identifiers linked to the subjects, and an IRB conducts a limited IRB review.

Category 3(i): Research involving benign behavioral interventions in conjunction with the collection of information from an adult subject through verbal or written responses (including data entry) or audiovisual recording if the subject prospectively agrees to the intervention and information collection and at least one of the following criteria is met:

(A) The information obtained is recorded by the investigator in such a manner that the identity of the human subjects cannot readily be ascertained, directly or through identifiers linked to the subjects;
(B) Any disclosure of the human subjects’ responses outside the research would not reasonably place the subjects at risk of criminal or civil liability or be damaging to the subjects’ financial standing, employability, educational advancement, or reputation; or
(C) The information obtained is recorded by the investigator in such a manner that the identity of the human subjects can readily be ascertained, directly or through identifiers linked to the subjects, and an IRB conducts a limited IRB review

Category 3(ii):  For the purpose of this provision, benign behavioral interventions are brief in duration, harmless, painless, not physically invasive, not likely to have a significant adverse lasting impact on the subjects, and the investigator has no reason to think the subjects will find the interventions offensive or embarrassing. Provided all such criteria are met, examples of such benign behavioral interventions would include having the subjects play an online game, having them solve puzzles under various noise conditions, or having them decide how to allocate a nominal amount of received cash between themselves and someone else.

Category 3(iii): If the research involves deceiving the subjects regarding the nature or purposes of the research, this exemption is not applicable unless the subject authorizes the deception through a prospective agreement to participate in research in circumstances in which the subject is informed that he or she will be unaware of or misled regarding the nature or purposes of the research.

Category 4: Secondary research for which consent is not required: Secondary research uses of identifiable private information or identifiable biospecimens, if at least one of the following criteria is met:

(i) The identifiable private information or identifiable biospecimens are publicly available;
(ii) Information, which may include information about biospecimens, is recorded by the investigator in such a manner that the identity of the human subjects cannot readily be ascertained directly or through identifiers linked to the subjects, the investigator does not contact the subjects, and the investigator will not re-identify subjects;
(iii) The research involves only information collection and analysis involving the investigator’s use of identifiable health information, for the purposes of ‘‘health care operations’’ or ‘‘research’’, or for ‘‘public health activities and purposes’’; or (iv) The research is conducted by, or on behalf of, a Federal department or agency using government-generated or government-collected information obtained for nonresearch activities,

Category 5: Research and demonstration projects that are conducted or supported by a Federal department or agency, or otherwise subject to the approval of department or agency heads, and that are designed to study, evaluate, improve, or otherwise examine public benefit or service programs, including procedures for obtaining benefits or services under those programs, possible changes in or alternatives to those programs or procedures, or possible changes in methods or levels of payment for benefits or services under those programs.

Category 6: Taste and food quality evaluation and consumer acceptance studies: (i) If wholesome foods without additives are consumed, or (ii) If a food is consumed that contains a food ingredient at or below the level and for a use found to be safe, or agricultural chemical or environmental contaminant at or below the level found to be safe, by the Food and Drug Administration or approved by the Environmental Protection Agency or the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Category 7 (the storage or maintenance of identifiable private information or identifiable biospecimens for secondary research for which broad consent is required) and Category 8 (Secondary research involving use of Identifiable Private Information or Identifiable Biospecimens for which broad consent was required) will not be implemented at this time.