First and foremost, thank you for your interest in wanting to conduct your research at the Early Learning Center. We take great pride in the research conducted at our centers and for that reason each project application is reviewed extensively by the University’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) and our own Administrative Team. The ELC and the UD IRB have created a strong partnership in order to make your application process as straightforward as possible, but please don’t hesitate to contact us should you have any questions.  

Steps to conduct research at the ELC

PRIOR to submitting your IRB application you must complete  the ELC Research Project Application and return to ud-elc@udel.edu for review. This application serves as a way to justify access to the Early Learning Center and explain the context of the study including the impact on ELC children, families, and staff.  The ELC Administration understands that time is often of the essence prior to IRB submissions, and therefore assures a 72 hour turnaround for your application. Once you have received a signed approval from the ELC you will need to upload a copy to your IRB submission on IRBnet. At any point in time your application may be refused, returned for revisions, or we may request that you provide further clarification about the proposed activities.   Once you have IRB approval for your research project you will need to send a copy of your IRB Approved Protocol to ud-elc@udel.edu along with the following items: