Cayuse IRB FAQs

What do I use Cayuse IRB for?

Cayuse IRB is now the mandatory form of submission for all new studies. You can also use Cayuse IRB to report incidences and make modifications to studies that were previously submitted through Cayuse IRB.

Research Determination Forms can now be completed through Cayuse IRB in the initial submission.

How do I log in?

Visit the Cayuse IRB homepage.

What is my username and password?

Cayuse IRB is accessible through single-sign-on with your Montclair State issued Net-ID and password. If you are a student or new faculty member please request an account. Existing faculty and staff have been pre-loaded into the Cayuse IRB system.

How can I change my contact & personal information (e.g. phone number, address) in the system?

You do not need to contact the IRB office to update any of your personal information. To do so, log in to the Revisions research suite and click “Cayuse 424” instead of “Cayuse IRB.” Then click the “People” tab at the top of the page, search yourself, and edit your information.

Who do I contact for help?

Please feel free to email cayuseirb@montclair.edu if you have any questions.

How do I submit an initial submission?

View the Cayuse IRB Submission Process.

What is the PC (Primary Contact) role?

The PC is the primary point of contact with the IRB staff for a study. Like other research team members, the PC can work on a submission, but all submissions must be certified by the PI before it is submitted to the IRB staff. Faculty/staff members leading a research study can be both the PI and the PC. A Montclair State student or a different faculty/staff member can also be the PC on a faculty/staff-led study. In the case of a student-led research study, the student should be the PC and their faculty sponsor must be the PI.

What are all of the research team roles and where are they identified?

View an explanation of the research team roles.

I am a faculty sponsor; the student has asked me to certify however some changes need to be made before submitting. How do I send the submission back to the student?

There is a “RETURN TO INVESTIGATORS” button you can hit to send the application back to the student, and reopen it. This can be found on the submission details page. You or the student could then make changes. (Unfortunately, you can’t make comments in the application for the student.)

How do I submit an amendment (modification)to my study?

After your initial submission has been approved, you will be able to select “Modification” under the “New Submission” button on your study page. See further instructions on submitting modifications.

Where are my stamped approval documents?

Approval documents through Cayuse are not stamped. The IRB office will no longer produce hard-copy approval documents for submissions submitted through Cayuse IRB. You will be able to access your approved documents by viewing your submission in Cayuse IRB. Your approval letter will be sent to you via email.

How can I record audio only in Zoom?

Instructions for recording audio only for Zoom.

Prior to starting the meeting where you will only be recording audio files, log into your account for zoom at msu.zoom.us

Click on Settings

Click on Recording – see options

After your meeting, you may want to go back and re-establish your original settings.

I need to submit a Continuing Review/Amendment application soon. Can I do it in Cayuse IRB instead of Adobe forms?

Studies approved in Cayuse IRB will be reminded to submit renewals in Cayuse IRB prior to expiration. A submission requesting a modification of your study can be accepted in Cayuse if your study was already submitted in the system.

What is the protocol for student-led studies?

Students who are leading a research study should be identified as the Primary Contact on the IRB submissions. The faculty sponsor must be listed as the PI. The study title should be prefaced by “SS” i.e. “SS Example Study Title.” View more information about student submissions.

Why am I having trouble accessing Cayuse IRB during weekends?

Evisions schedules maintenance for the Cayuse system on Saturdays or Sundays. If you find you cannot access the system on a weekend, try later in the day or the next day.

How can I delete a study in Cayuse IRB?

There are only certain circumstances under which you can delete a study in Cayuse IRB. Please see our guide on how to delete a study in Cayuse IRB.

Why do I keep getting expiration reminders after completing a Renewal submission?

The Cayuse system is set to send notices of IRB approval expiration starting 60 days in advance of expiration, and once every two weeks thereafter. Those reminders continue going out even after a renewal submission has been created. Their behavior is tied directly to the expiration date of the study and so those notifications will continue to go out until the review on the renewal is complete.

How do I submit a Research Determination Form (RDF)?

You should begin your submission as you would a general initial submission, please start your study title with the initials “RDF” i.e., “RDF – Research on Established School Practices”. After completing the “Personnel” section, you will see the “Activity” section, you can choose either Secondary Data Analysis or Activities without a Plan to Conduct Research– depending on your project.

If you choose either of those choices, you will find the Research Determination section will open up.

Then you will answer questions in the required sections, complete and certify the submission and it will go into pre-review.

View How to Enter a Research Determination Form in Cayuse with instructions and screenshots.

How do I change the title of my study?

Go to your Study Details page and hover over your study title. Click the title, type the new name, and click the blue checkmark. View images on changing study title.

How do I create a PDF of my submission in Chrome if I get a “Failed-Network Error” message?

1. Open Chrome and type “about:plugins” into the omnibox at the top.
2. Scroll down and find Chrome PDF Viewer.
3. Click the “Disable” link to prevent PDFs from loading within Chrome.

How do I add a sponsor if my study has received funding?

You will add the funding source by submitting a modification.

How do I close a study in Cayuse?

Please view our webpage on submitting closures. If you are still working with the data, doing any data analysis, or believe you will need to go back to your data at a future point, you should leave your study open.

I can log into Cayuse Research Suite, but Cayuse IRB won’t open. What should I do?

Browser Caching Fix.

I want to use linking codes and/or unique identifiers for future contact after online surveys, what is one approach I can use to do this?

At the end of the survey, participants are asked if they agree to being re-contacted for follow up.
If they agree, this is what they are asked to do to create a unique identifier code as follows – no spaces:

• First letter of your first name
• Day of birth (two digits – if you were born on the 2nd, please enter 02)
• Month of birth (two digits – if you were born in January, please enter 01)
• First letter of your middle name (if none, use X)
• Once this info is entered, the subject will be rerouted to our institutional website to a secure webpage where they will be asked to enter their email address for later follow up. This will only happen once. This email address will not therefore be linked to the SM data provided.
• When PI wishes to contact subjects later for follow up data, PI will send an email to ALL the email addresses collected. At the start of the follow up SM survey, subjects will be asked to repeat the instructions 1-5 above at the start. The new data collected can then be linked to the previous data collected but is not connected to the email address.

How do I modify my study if I want to do interviews online instead of face-to-face?

Your study can be modified to include email/telephone/teleconferencing/video meetings/email.  Consider what changes can work with your study and submit a modification. See How to Submit Modification for guidance on submission. 

Can consent forms be signed electronically?

Yes, in most studies electronic signature of consent is an acceptable method of consent acknowledgement. If you would like your consent forms to be signed electronically, please propose this method in a modification to the IRB. These modifications reviews will be triaged and reviewed expeditiously.

How can I get an electronic signatures on my Study Consent Form (remote signatures)?

PIs are allowed to propose any number of options as part of your current protocol. Please submit those consent changes in Cayuse as a modification and the IRB will evaluate risk to participants. Some available options for you are (the list is not all inclusive):

• Create a Qualtrics consent form with signature. Qualtrics instructions available here.
• Mail your consent form to participants and have them send you a picture of the signed consent.
• Propose a waiver of signature to your consent process. Please submit this change via Cayuse modification submission and describe the verbal documentation process of consent via phone. You should consider how you will document verbal consent in your modification submission.

My research experienced an incident, how should I handle this?

In the event that you’ve experienced an incident with your research, follow our normal practice of submitting through Cayuse as an incident submission. Please see the FAQs on adverse events here.

What if my research is conducted at a school or off-campus at another site?

Researchers must comply with any additional requirements of the host site. The researcher must obtain written notice from an authorized person at the research site certifying that approval has been granted for research activities to resume at the off-campus location.