Buck-IRB Job Aid

Buck-IRB is the electronic system used for the submission and review of exempt and Institutional Review Board (IRB) research performed by Ohio State investigators. Buck-IRB streamlines the exempt and IRB submission processes.

Access Buck-IRB

Access Buck-IRB by clicking on go.osu.edu/Buck-IRB. Use your Ohio State username and password to log in. Note: If you do not have an Ohio State username and password, contact the Office of Research (OR) Help Desk at orhelpdesk@osu.edu or 614-688-8288. If you have forgotten your password or it has expired, visit my.osu.edu.

Because all system communications are delivered via email, you must keep your profile information up-to-date, particularly your contact email address. Note: Your system profile can be updated at any time at go.osu.edu/orregister.

User Guide

General System Navigation

On most pages within Buck-IRB, you are presented with several available actions in the top gray header menu.

Exit Form: click to exit the current form and return to the study workspace.
Home: click to go to the “Home” page and return to your list of active studies.
Help: click to submit a request to the Office of Research Help Desk.
Study Team Look-up: click to search for the CITI,(HSP, RCR, and GCP) and COI status of study team members.
Time to Approval: click to find out the current time to approval for initial and amendment submissions.
Log Out: click to start the log-out process.

System Tips

You must actively save your data on each screen; the system will not automatically save the data entered. To save your data, you must click ‘Continue’ or ‘Save & Continue’. These buttons are located at the top-right or bottom-right of each page.
Do not use your browser’s backspace or other control keys to navigate in Buck-IRB.
- Always use ‘Continue’ or ‘Save & Continue’ in the navigation bar to move forward through the form pages.
- To move efficiently throughout the form, use the left-hand “Form Menu.” Remember to use the ‘Continue’ or ‘Save & Continue’ buttons to save any work before navigating to another form page.
You must provide an answer or upload a document for every form field that is flagged with a red asterisk *.
The “Form Menu” will display different icons to indicate whether a section is complete or requires attention:
- A green check indicates that you have completed all required information.
- A red triangle indicates that there are items that must be completed before the form can be submitted.
- A number indicates the number of items you have added to a particular section (i.e., a “3” in “Study Personnel” indicates that 3 study team members have been saved).
The system will alert you with on-screen messaging and links when items require your attention.

Special Consideration for Amendments/Continuing Reviews

The “Start Amendment” option will not be present on the left navigation menu if a continuing review submission or another amendment is pending in Buck-IRB (and vice versa). In general, amendments and continuing review/annual status report submissions cannot be submitted concurrently (see exceptions below).

You must either wait until the pending submission has been approved, or the previous submission can be withdrawn so that the new submission request can be initiated.

Exceptions

Personnel changes to remove, add, or modify Ohio State co-investigators and key personnel that do not necessitate study document changes can be submitted through a personnel change request. Additionally, external collaborators can also be removed (not added) through this same process. These personnel changes can be made at any time, including while other submissions are pending, assuming no other personnel changes are being made. Click on “Start Personnel Change” to initiate this request. NOTE: Principal Investigator (PI) changes and the addition of external collaborators can be made by amendment request only.
As part of a continuing review submission, the following two types of changes can be requested (and do not require a separate amendment request): Increases in the number of study participants and Ohio State personnel changes.

Contact

Technical Issues

orhelpdesk@osu.edu or 614-688-8288
Additionally, when in Buck-IRB, you can click on the “?” on the upper-left corner of any page to submit a question to the Help Desk.

IRB Support

IRBinfo@osu.edu or 614-292-6950

Buck-IRB Training

If your department or research unit would like to request a Buck-IRB training session, contact Michael Donovan, Senior IRB Protocol Analyst, at 614-292-6950 or donovan.6@osu.edu.