Exempt Review

OHRP federal regulation section 46.101 provides that certain kinds of research (e.g., some surveys, field interviews, observations, and evaluations of standard educational practices or tests) involving no more than minimal risk to subjects can be exempt from full IRB review and record keeping. Final determination of administrative review status is the responsibility of the IRB Chair. Please note that Informed Consent is required in all research activities.

Administrative review requires 7-10 business days for initial IRB review. The IRB highly recommends the application be submitted at least 1 month before the proposed start date of the study.

You can find OHRPs and NIHs Exempt Review Decision Charts (Decision Tree) by selecting the websites below.

Examples of Exempt Research:

Anonymous or identifiable surveys or interviews
Passive observation of public behavior with or without the collection of identifiers
Performing cognitive tasks
Focus groups assessing their opinions or insights
Recorded information that cannot readily identify the respondent
Program evaluation
Educational research that does not involve children
Analysis of previously collected identifiable data