Research Consultation

The CARAS Research Support Program (RSP) provides research consultation through two processes: review through the Research Advisory Committee (RAC), and individualized consultation in response to a request from a CARAS subscriber. The most common process for research consultation is through the RAC.

Research consultations provide written feedback on research proposals that address issues such as: study design and methodology, ethical and regulatory issues, assessment of literature reviews and recommendations regarding the relevant scholarly literature, community feedback and outreach, and dissemination of results.

Consultations can occur at any stage of the research process. If the protocol will be reviewed by an IRB (or other ethics review committee), we recommend RAC review prior to submission to the IRB. Another scenario encountered by CARAS is one in which an investigator has already submitted a project for IRB review and is experiencing difficulties in obtaining IRB approval for the project. CARAS consultations also occur in a variety of situations that do not involve IRB review.

While research consultations routinely address potential regulatory issues, research consultations do not involve formal regulatory determinations. Formal regulatory determinations are a separate process that may be performed by the CARAS Human Research Protections Program (HRPP) or an institutional HRPP/IRB office.

If you have any questions regarding CARAS research consultation, please contact the RSP at rsp@carasresearch.org