Undergraduate Summer Research

If you have received funding to conduct research over the summer, your education requirements include 1) completing the "History and Ethical Principles" module on CITI, and 2) meeting with an IRB staff member.

Completing the CITI module

Before you meet with an IRB staff member, all members of the research team will need to complete the CITI "History and Ethical Principles” module. The online module:

Discusses the three ethical principles, how they apply to research, and why they matter; and
Considers the experience of subjects in landmark social sciences studies, such as the “Taste, Ties, and Time” study, which gleaned detailed personal information from the Facebook profiles of an entire class of Harvard undergraduates and followed those students over four years without their knowledge or consent.

Meeting with an IRB staff member

During the meeting with an IRB staff member, we will discuss relevant issues related to your research, discuss consent processes, and help you complete the Undergraduate Student Request for Protocol Approval form.

If you are working on a group project, please arrange a time when your whole group can meet. If you or any of your research team members are out of the country please let us know when you contact us.

Completing the CITI module and meeting with us will qualify as your required training.

If you have already submitted a protocol, completed modules on CITI, or sat in during an in-classroom IRB presentation, please let us know immediately. No matter what you have already done, we encourage you to meet with us.

Traveling Abroad

IRB approval is separate from approval to travel abroad. Please click here to see the Duke Travel Registry policy for undergraduate students. Undergraduate students must register their travel plans if their trip will be “funded by, sponsored by, or entails earning credit to be transferred back to, Duke University.”

Note that Duke has restrictions on travel to certain countries. These restrictions may change, depending on current world affairs.

It is recommended that students register their travel plans before submitting a protocol.