No dissertation involving human participants can begin data collection without IRB (Institutional Review Board) approval. This guide covers every section of the application — risk assessment, informed consent, recruitment, and data protection — and the most common reasons proposals get sent back.
An IRB (or research ethics board / ethics committee, depending on your country) proposal is a formal application demonstrating that your proposed study protects the rights, safety, and privacy of human participants. It is reviewed independently of your dissertation committee — passing your proposal defense does not mean you have IRB approval, and you cannot collect data until you have both.
Most institutions sort applications into three review tiers:
Submit early. Full board review can take 4–8 weeks and often requires revisions before approval. Submit your IRB application as soon as your proposal is defended — don't wait until you're ready to collect data.
| Section | Content |
|---|---|
| Study summary | Purpose, research questions, methodology in plain language |
| Participant population | Who, how many, inclusion/exclusion criteria |
| Recruitment procedures | How participants are identified and approached |
| Informed consent process | How and when consent is obtained; consent form attached |
| Data collection procedures | Exactly what participants will be asked to do |
| Risk and benefit assessment | Potential harms, and how they're mitigated |
| Confidentiality and data security | Storage, anonymization, retention, access |
| Appendices | Consent form, recruitment materials, instruments |
The IRB's central question is whether risks to participants are minimized and reasonable relative to anticipated benefits. Address every plausible risk explicitly, even small ones:
Our dissertation specialists help draft consent forms, risk assessments, and full IRB applications aligned to your methodology chapter.
The consent form and process must give a prospective participant everything needed to decide freely whether to take part. Required elements typically include:
Match your consent form to your actual procedure. A common rejection reason is a mismatch between the consent form and the methodology section — e.g., the methods describe audio-recording interviews but the consent form doesn't mention recording. Every procedure described in your methodology must appear in the consent form.
Specify concretely, not generically:
No. Any contact with potential participants — including recruitment posts, emails, or flyers — requires IRB approval first. Starting recruitment beforehand is a serious compliance violation that can jeopardize your entire study and your standing in the program.
Often not, but this is determined by your IRB, not by you — secondary analysis of de-identified public datasets is frequently exempt, but you must still submit a determination request rather than assuming exemption.
Any change to your approved protocol — new recruitment channels, additional questions, a different population — requires an amendment submitted to the IRB before you implement the change. Significant deviations without amendment can invalidate already-collected data.