Secondary Review and Approval

Secondary review refers to an IRB review conducted after a project has already received IRB approval, either from the same institution or from an IRB at a different institution. This is different from secondary research, which refers to research involving pre-existing data sets, or research in which the data were collected for a separate project or reason and are being repurposed or reexamined by the current project.  

Proposals that have been previously approved by an IRB will be handled in the following manner.

Upon the discretion of the chair, exempt/expedited proposals will be approved subject to the same conditions as those stipulated previously. To receive approval, the following documents must be submitted to the Northwest IRB:

• Northwest IRB Application (only sections 1, 2, and 7 are required for secondary review)
• The original IRB application submitted for prior approval
• All attachments submitted with the original IRB application (including, but not limited to, informed consent statements and surveys)
• A copy of the original IRB approval letter
• Certificates of completion of required CITI ethics training for all researchers associated with the project

The Northwest Missouri State University IRB may request additional information as necessary.

Proposals which were initially approved under a full IRB review must undergo a full IRB review process at Northwest Missouri State University. The complete IRB proposal, informed consent form, surveys, and any other attachments which were originally submitted must be submitted to the chair of the Northwest Missouri State University Institutional Review Board. In addition, a copy of the approval letter from the other institution must be submitted as well. The Northwest Missouri State University IRB may request additional information as necessary.