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Application Paths

Take the 2 minute Zipline Online Help Library feedback survey [1] to help us improve Zipline support.

Applications can follow three basic paths in Zipline. The paths depend on which IRB should conduct the review and whether or not the UW IRB should review on behalf of another institution. See the “Is the UW IRB the Right IRB?” [2] webpage for more information.

The first page of the SmartForm contains key questions that dictate which path the application will follow. These questions should be considered before the application is started and may require consultation with HSD.

Pathways

UW Reviewing for UW Only

This pathway is most appropriate for research that should be reviewed by UW and either:

  1. Does not involve any other institutions; or
  2. The UW should not review for other involved institutions. For example, the UW IRB does not generally review for the VA.

If no other institutions are involved and the UW IRB should do the review, the Basic Information page on the SmartForm should indicate that:

  1. The study is “single-site” (Question 4)
  2. You are not requesting authorization for an external IRB to do the review (Question 5)

If other institutions are involved but the UW IRB should only review the activities of the local (UW) site, the Basic Information page on the SmartForm should indicate that:

  1. The study is multi-site or collaborative (Question 4)
  2. You are not requesting authorization for an external IRB to do the review (Question 5)
  3. The UW IRB will not act as the IRB for other sites (Question 6)

UW Reviewing for Other Institution(s)

This pathway is most appropriate for research involving multiple institutions where the UW should  review the activities of at least one other involved institution. In this pathway, the study approval is not approval for all sites. Instead, the other institution’s involvement is reviewed separately, and a separate site approval will be issued once that institution’s involvement is approved [6].

Examples:

The Basic Information page on the SmartForm should indicate that:

  1. The study is multi-site or collaborative (Question 4)
  2. You are not requesting authorization for an external IRB to do the review (Question 5)
  3. The UW IRB will act as the IRB for other sites or institutions (Question 6)

Non-UW IRB Reviewing

This pathway is most appropriate for research that requires IRB review, but the UW IRB should not be conducting the review. Most of the time, studies that should be reviewed by an external IRB involve other institutions or industry funding, and the application should indicate that the study is multi-site or collaborative in the SmartForms. All studies that should be reviewed by a non-UW IRB follow the same basic path. The Basic Information page on the SmartForm should indicate that:

  1. You are requesting authorization for an external IRB to do the review (Question 5)

Next Step [7]