Human Subjects Research and the Institutional Review Board (IRB)

The Pomona College IRB is committed to protecting the rights and welfare of all persons who participate in projects that are conducted under its auspices. This includes ensuring that research participants are fully aware of their rights and of the protections available to them. Further, the IRB is responsible for ascertaining that there is a balance between the potential long-term knowledge gained from any proposed research and any potential risk to the research participants.  Investigators who plan research involving human subjects that requires exempt, expedited, or full board review are required to submit their research protocol to the Pomona IRB for review.

The IRB Committee members include an Associate Dean of the College, faculty members from diverse disciplines, as well as a community representative. Researchers wishing to use human participants are invited to notify the IRB Administrators at an early stage in the project design about the need for IRB review, for assistance, or to provide feedback.

* Oral histories occupy a gray area. One reason is that different disciplines may have different definitions of research, which is treated by the HHS-based IRB regulations as an effort to create generalizable knowledge. Historians may view research differently. These differences matter because only activities that constitute "research" are subject to IRB regulation. Moreover, some studies may subject interviewees to more than minimal risk, in terms of legal exposure, for example. Since our foremost goal is the well-being of the human research participants, such studies should be submitted to the IRB for evaluation. See other perspectives from the Oral History Association.

Our Guiding Principles

We abide by principles put forth by the Belmont Report and the Common Rule, which guide the Office of Human Research Protections at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Further information on human subjects research is available from

• NSF Web Page on Research Involving Human Subjects
• International Compilation of Human Research Protections

Further Information for Investigators Considering a Submission to the IRB 

• Process Flow for IRB Submissions
• Activities that Generally Require Submission to IRB
• Activities that May Not Require Submission to IRB
• The Level of Review and Minimal Risk
• Additional Resources for Preparing IRB Protocols