The eProtocol system for the IRB went live on June 1, 2020.
The
Research Protections section of the Office of Research Services uses
The DePaul eProtocol system for electronic protocol submission and
review. All new initial protocol submissions related to IRB protocols must be submitted using
eProtocol beginning June 1, 2020. The system is web-based and can be
accessible by internet.
At this time, only new protocols, which are being reviewed and approved under the revised regulations which became effective January 21, 2019, can be submitted through the online portal. ORS/IRB will make a decision regarding older protocols on a protocol per protocol basis as to whether it makes sense to re-submit them in the online system. We need to gradually move older protocols into the system so that we are not overloaded.
The best browsers to use for accessing eProtocol are Mozilla Firefox, Safari (version 12 or newer for Mac), and Chrome.
Important Note:
Once logged into eProtocol DO NOT use the 'back button" or “back arrow"
in the browser. If you do so, you will be signed or logged out of the
program and will then need to re-log in. You need to use the navigation
tools within eProtocol to navigate between pages.
Other Important Tips:
- Your user session will automatically time out after 60 minutes
- If
you have more than one role (i.e., investigator and IRB member), you
need to be sure you select the correct role before you begin working in
the system. To help you manage the work within eProtocol, you will have
two different dashboards, one for investigator and one for IRB member.
- The
program has a built in auto save function as you move from page to page
using the 'Next' button, but you can also manually save data you have
entered on some of the pages.
- As a Principal Investigator, you
can look at your protocol in the system in either edit mode (can make
changes to the document) or view mode (cannot make changes). Depending
upon the role of other people listed on your protocol, they may only be
able to view a document, but not edit it.
- Your research team
members can have different roles assigned within the system: Principal
Investigator, Faculty Sponsor, Co-Investigator, Key Research Personnel, or Other Personnel. The Faculty Sponsor, Co-investigator, and Key Research Personnel are usually DePaul affiliated persons and will have edit access to the protocol. People listed in the Other Personnel section are usually external to DePaul and do not have edit access to the protocol or the system. You can assign people external to DePaul to the Co-investigator and Key research Personnel roles, but they will need a guest of DePaul account requested through ORS to access the system and to be allowed to be added in these sections and to make then editors.
- The system has a page level check for
completeness and an application check for completeness step at the end
before submitting for review.
- Once you submit the form (either
initial, amendment, continuing review, or final report), you will not be
able to go back into the form and edit.
- You will only be able
to submit one type of submission at a time. For example, you cannot
submit an continuing review and an amendment at the same time. However, the
continuing review process has been altered online to allow
you to make any proposed changes as part of the continuing review process
without submitting an amendment form. You make the changes directly into
the application form, section by section. The only form that may be
submitted at the same time as another submission, or while another
submissions is being processed, is the Reportable Event Prompt Reporting Form.
- If you want to submit a protocol
that is very similar to another
protocol, you may clone the original protocol versus entering all the
information from scratch.
- You do not have to submit the form, if
you do not have time to complete it in one sitting. You may save your
information and return to the form to complete it at a later date.
To access eProtocol click here: https://researchcompliance.depaul.edu/
To request a person external to DePaul to have access to the eProtocol system (see the FAQ below), complete this form and send to ORP@depaul.edu: 
Friend of DePaul form -FINAL.pdf
What is eProtocol?
eProtocol
is a web-based Research Administration and compliance software system
for the submission, review and approval process for IBC, IRB, and IACUC
protocols. It will be initiated in phases, with the IBC being the first
board to utilize the system, the IRB being the second board, and the IACUC being the third board.
How do I access and log into eProtocol?
DePaul
faculty, staff, and students will use their DePaul assigned user ID and
Campus Connect password to log into eProtocol. For example, John Smith
may have been assigned Jsmith22 by DePaul and would have created his own
password to log into Campus Connect. To log in for the first time, you
would click on the link above (https://researchcompliance.depaul.edu/)
and then enter your DePaul user ID and Password in the appropriate
box. You will see a popup that asks you to allow pop ups for this
program. You need to enable pop ups. When you do this, you will be signed
or logged out of the program and will need to log in again. Now, you
should be ready to work. If you utilize more than one computer, you
will need to go through the process of enabling pop ups on each
computer.
If you are not a DePaul faculty member, student,
or staff member, but require access to the system, you need to complete a short form (found on the forms and templates page) to obtain a guest/friend of DePaul account. These types of accounts must be renewed annually by ORS. The form allows us to track everyone who has requested and is given this account for the purpose of using the eProtocol system.
How do I learn how to use eProtocol?
We
will have user guides for Principal Investigators, IRB members, and
ORS staff that should guide you through the protocol submission
process. The ORS staff is also available to assist you with using the
online system.
This is a link to a page where the user guides are
posted. The user guides are behind DePaul authentication. This means you
need to have a DePaul user ID and password to have access to these
guides.
eProtocol Investigator User Guide
What if I just want to know the content of the form before actually creating it online in eProtocol?
After
initiation of the online eProtocol system paper versions of the form
will still be available for a period of time to allow for IRB protocols that remain on paper. Detailed instruction
documents will remain available for the forms on the Forms and Templates
section of the IRB webpage.
Why doesn't my CITI training automatically download into the eProtocol system when I am added to a protocol?
The
eProtocol system interfaces with the CITI training records using your
DePaul user ID (the one you use to log into Campus Connect or which is
identified in the Outlook email registry in the last column, for example
jsmith1). ORS did not initially request this information for CITI
accounts, but made this update to the registration process in CITI since
mid-2019 as we built the eProtocol system. Therefore, if you created
your CITI account some time ago, you need to log into CITI and add the
DePaul user ID to your institutional profile. You do this by logging
into your CITI account. Then you pull down the menu list in the right
hand corner by your name and select Profiles. On the resulting screen,
scroll down to institutional profile. Click on the "Edit Profile" button
for DePaul University. Then, in the resulting screen scroll down to the
field for "DePaul User ID" and add your user ID (not your ID number). Then, scroll down to
the end of the page and select "Submit". Older accounts would be blank
in this field or may have an actual ID number in that field, which will
not work for allowing auto down loads of the CITI training. If you need
assistance with this process, please contact a member of the ORS-Research
Protections staff.