Office of Sponsored Research and Programs
Definitions used by Missouri State
In addition to definitions promulgated by federal agencies, the University policy uses the following definitions:
(1) Research defined herein is similar to that used by DHHS. It is generally defined as systematic investigation—including research development, testing, and evaluation—designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge (45 CFR 46.102(d)). Systematic Investigation is further defined as any activity that utilizes scientific methods (either quantitative or qualitative) in an orderly, iterative process of data gathering. These methods may be experimental, quasi-experimental, or pre-experimental in nature and may or may not involve random selection and/or random assignment. In general, they follow an orderly plan of the investigator’s design or adoption. Generalizable Knowledge is further defined as any information generated from data collected to describe, inform, generate or test hypotheses that will be shared with others in any public or semi-public venue other than closed meetings and/or the classroom setting. This may include dissemination of information through more traditional, formalized means such as journal publications or conference presentations. It also includes dissemination through things like local or state newsletters or posting on the Internet such that a wider audience could access the information freely.
(2) Principal Investigator is the person who leads the project and is ultimately responsible for all aspects of it. On most projects, the term has the same meaning as “project director.”
(3) College IRB Representative is the member of a particular college who is a current member of the IRB and serves as the first reviewer on proposals submitted by the college (see Appendix XX for a current listing of college representatives).
(4) Student project means a study in which a student investigator (individually or as part of a group) gathers or analyzes information in a systematic manner, primarily for pedagogical purposes. It is not intended to contribute to generalizable knowledge and is not to be presented outside the class in which the research is being done or published/disseminated (including publication on the Internet) in any way, presented, archived, or compiled with similar research for later publishing or presentation. Research conducted for a senior project, master’s thesis or seminar project does not fall under this definition.
(5) Institutional research is a study that is designed to obtain information to assist in the administration of the University. Institutional research provides information for administrative planning, policy making, decision making, and includes examinations of institutional effectiveness. Institutional research is specifically defined as those data collection and interpretation efforts that: (a) will not be shared outside of the University environment; (b)will not be disseminated to other professionals or the public in any forum; (c) presents no more than “minimal risk” (as defined by Federal regulation); (d) is not intended to produce “generalizable knowledge”; and (e) contains no identifiers in the data that might compromise an individual’s confidentiality. Institutional efforts meeting this definition are not subject to the IRB policiy and procedures.
(5) Training refers to a process approved by the University, and required by federal regulations, to instruct investigators in the conduct of research involving human participants.
IRB Policy document (Word and PDF):
IRB Policy manual (
PDF, 667 KB)
IRB Policy manual (
Word, 1.37 MB)
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