Human Subjects Research Review Statistics
At the close of the 2008-09 academic year, there were 1,681 active research projects involving human subjects being conducted at The University of Texas at Austin. The respective proportion for each of the protocol review classification types is depicted in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Human Research Active Protocols by Classification Type for the 2008-09 Academic Year
There are a variety of actions that are regularly processed by the Office of Research Support (ORS) and the Institutional Review Board (IRB). An “action” refers to a review and determination of some kind that is made regarding an active protocol. Examples include new studies, continuing reviews, amendments, unanticipated problems, cessations, closures, letters with explicit conditions, suspensions, incidences of non-compliance, and tabled studies.
| Type of Action | 2008-2009 |
2007-2008 |
|---|---|---|
| New Studies | 1,584 | 851 |
| Continuing Reviews | 794 | 803 |
| Amendments | 610 | 598 |
| Unanticipated Problem Reports | 14 | 15 |
| Closures | 436 | 503 |
The total volume of work managed by the ORS and IRB fluctuates somewhat across the academic year. The number of actions conducted each month ranged from 234 to 393 during the 2008-09 academic year. The ORS and IRB work load is generally most demanding around the start of both the fall and spring semesters. Figure 2 illustrates these work load trends.
Figure 2. Total Actions Processed by the ORS
