Institutional Review Board
The GCAS Institutional Review Board safeguards the rights, dignity, and welfare of human participants in research conducted under the auspices of GCAS. All research involving human subjects — interviews, surveys, ethnographic fieldwork, clinical case studies, and any other engagement with living persons as sources of data — must be reviewed and approved by the IRB before data collection begins.
This applies to every GCAS researcher: PhD and MA candidates, faculty, and visiting researchers.
Apply through the IRB Portal
Applications are submitted, tracked, and returned through your student dashboard. You can see your review status at any time, respond to the Board’s comments, and download your clearance letter once approval is granted.
Enter the IRB PortalWhat the IRB reviews
The Board evaluates proposed research against international standards for ethical conduct, drawing on the Belmont Report’s principles of respect for persons, beneficence, and justice, and on the Declaration of Helsinki where applicable. Reviewers examine the methodology, the procedures for informed consent, the management of confidentiality and data protection including GDPR compliance, the handling of vulnerable populations, and the broader ethical implications of the research design.
The IRB does not exist to obstruct research. It exists to make research more rigorous, more humane, and more defensible — ethically and legally — once it enters the world.
Two review tracks
Standard review
Required for research involving vulnerable populations (minors, prisoners, persons in dependent relationships with the researcher, persons in clinical or psychiatric care), sensitive personal data, deception, more-than-minimal risk, or any methodology where the potential for harm — psychological, social, professional, or otherwise — exceeds what a person would ordinarily encounter in daily life.
Exempt review
Available for genuinely minimal-risk research: anonymous surveys with no sensitive content, observation in fully public settings, analysis of publicly available data, and similarly low-stakes inquiries. An exempt determination is made by the Board, not by the researcher. You still submit an application, but the review is faster and lighter.
If you are unsure which track applies, submit the standard application. The Board will redirect you to the exempt track if appropriate.
How it works
- Submit. Sign in and complete the application in the portal. You may hold one active application at a time.
- Review. The Board assesses your submission. Your status updates in the portal as it moves through the queue.
- Revisions, if needed. If the Board asks for changes, you will receive an email and see their comments in the portal. Revise your existing application and resubmit — your protocol reference stays the same.
- Approval. You receive a formal clearance letter on GCAS letterhead, carrying your protocol reference. It remains available to download from the portal permanently.
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Standard reviews are typically completed within four to six weeks of submission; exempt reviews within two weeks.
Application fee
A €250 application fee supports the work of the review board, including reviewer honoraria, administrative coordination, and the institutional infrastructure required to maintain GCAS’s standing as a credentialed reviewing body.
The fee is invoiced after approval is granted, not at the point of submission. You will not be charged for an application that is declined or withdrawn.
Hardship reductions are available case by case. Contact [email protected] before submitting if you need one.
After approval
Your clearance letter is valid for the duration of the research project, typically twelve months and renewable. Significant changes to the approved methodology require an amendment submission. Adverse events, unanticipated harms, or breaches of confidentiality must be reported to the Board within seven days of discovery.
The Board also requires a brief end-of-study report at the conclusion of the project, summarising how the research was conducted and noting any deviations from the approved protocol.
Researchers outside GCAS
External scholars conducting research that names GCAS as their institutional affiliation also require Board approval, but the portal is currently open to GCAS account holders only. Please write to [email protected] and the Board will arrange your application directly.
Contact
Questions about IRB review, the application process, or research ethics more broadly may be directed to [email protected].