Exemptions from Full Review

Research that poses no risk to subjects may be eligible for human subjects clearance that is exempt from full review.  Research falling into exempt categories is reviewed by an in-house committee at the School of Social Work. You will find a list of criteria for exemption at the Human Subject Division website at www.washington.edu/research/hsd/policy/.

If you believe your study matches one of the exempt criteria, complete a Certification of Exemption, which can be downloaded from http://www.washington.edu/research/hsd/hsdman3.html.   

Submit your Certification of Exemption form and materials, including, if appropriate, a consent form, recruitment approach script, survey, list of interview questions, and letter of cooperation, to David Takeuchi for distribution to the in-house exemption committee. Members of the committee are Associate Dean for Research Ethics and Initiatives David Takeuchi, Professor Rosemary Ryan. Diane will contact you within a week of submission notifying you of in-house approval of the exemption, requesting more information or notifying you that a full or minimal risk review is needed. 

If your study is approved for exemption, you will receive a copy of your Certification of Exemption form, signed by David Takeuchi, and a memo informing you that your exemption has been approved by the in-house committee.  A copy of your approved Certification of Exemption is forwarded by the School to the University of Washington Human Subjects Division for administrative review. Within 7 working days of the date on the memo, you can expect to hear from the Human Subjects Division, usually by e-mail, that your study is exempt or that more information is needed.  Note:  You cannot collect data or obtain secondary data until your project has been approved by the Human Subjects Division!

The following is an example of a study that might be approved as exempt from full review:

• An MSW student will survey students in his degree program about their satisfaction with course content on sexual orientation issues.  For one week, blank surveys will be available for pick-up from the student lounge.  MSW students will be informed that this is an anonymous survey and to not put identifying information, including their names, on the survey.  Completed surveys will be returned to a locked box on top of the student mail files.  Exemption #2 might apply.

The following is another example of a study that might be exempt from full review:

• For purposes of dissertation research, a doctoral student will conduct a secondary data analysis on a data set that has been given to her with all identifiers stripped.  The dataset contains no personally identifying information or codes that would reveal subject identities.  Neither the doctoral student nor the investigators from the original study can link findings from the secondary data analysis back to individual subjects.   Exemption #4 might apply.