Help & Frequently Asked Questions

• General
• For Administrators
• For Principal Investigators
• For Committee Members

General:

Navigating the website more efficiently

The website is mostly "flat" or single level, but there are a few portions that consist of several levels. These levels act categories and the deeper you go (higher level) the more specific information you will see.

The main way to navigate the website is the toolbar of links on the left, which is sufficient to access all single level sections (like this help page) and the 1st level of multiple level sections (like the protocols page). On multiple level pages you will notice that the title changes to tell you where exactly you are located (see Figure 1).

For example in Figure 1 above, when you are viewing questions about protocol XY-ZZZ you are actually in Level 3 of the Protocols Manager page. The page title also tells us that the previous page (Level 2) gives us information about a specific protocol version. Those parts of the title are each clickable and will take you to the corresponding level. So if you want to go back and look at information about protocol XY-ZZZ you do not have to use the back button until you get there, or start over from Level 1. You can just click the link "Protocol Version Details" and it will take you directly where you want to go.

The same principle applies throughout the site, and knowing how to use those links correctly will make working with the website a lot easier and faster.

User Types Described

Who are the administrators and what do they do:

Administrators are ORSP (Office of Research and Sponsored Programs) staff members. Administrators schedule and hold committee meetings and follow the the review progress of all protocols.

Who are the committee members and what do they do:

In most cases committee members are Rutgers employees. Committee reviewers have been preapproved and are the people who review new protocols, amendments, continuing reviews and denovos (rewrites) that have been submitted for approval by ORSP.

Who are the P.I.'s (principal investigators) and what do they do:

P.I.'s are Rutgers faculty registered on our website who have the ability to submit protocols.

What is an agenda?

An agenda is a term used by administrators and committee members to describe one review cycle. If it is a full committee agenda the cycle is one month and includes a screening and a full committe meeting. Delegated reviews are associated with a delegated review agenda, which usually consists of one smaller meeting at which one or more protocols are reviewed.

What do protocol versions mean?

A protocol is like a big folder where all information regarding the protocol is stored. Each time a protocol is reviewed, questions are asked. When the PI answers these questions and revises the protocol a new version is created and placed in that folder. This way old and new versions are stored for future reference. In almost all cases you can get all information you need about a protocol by looking at the current version.

How can I change my password?

• If you are a Rutgers employee and use your Rutgers NetID to log in you have to contact RUCS and ask them how you can change your password
• If you do not use your NetID to log into our website you can change your password and your secret question/answer by going to "my account info" and then clicking the "edit" link under "Security Information". On the next page there will be two separate forms - one for changing your password and one for changing your secret question and secret answer. Only one will be processed at a time depending on which button you click.

Can I belong to more than 1 user type?

YES! Absolutely. You can a PI and a committee member. As a matter of fact you can belong to all user types. These group permissions are handled by administrators.

"Your session has expired after 1hr of inactivity" What does that mean?

Our website uses sessions to store variables. Each session is valid for 1hr. If you do not click any links for 1hr the session will expire and you will have to log in again. This is a security feature that protects you in case you forget your computer on and logged in and someone gains access to it. In order to prevent data loss, please do not take long breaks in the middle of submitting protocols or typing long questions/answers about protocols.

For Administrators:

Please note that any links referred to in the following paragraph can be found in the "Administrator's Menu."

How do I post/edit/delete an annoucement?

Posting:

- Go to the "announcements manager".

- At the bottom of the page you will see the following "To add a new announcement click here.". Click on the word "here".

- On the next page you will see a form. Enter the announcement text in the field "Announcement". Then select the audience of this announcement (all - everyone will see it, administrators - only administrators will see it, committee memebers - only committee members will see it, principal investigators - only PI's will see it).

Editing:

- Go to the "announcements manager".

- The last field in the tabular list of announcements lists all possible options. Click on Edit.

Deleting:

- Go to the "announcements manager".

- The last field in the tabular list of announcements lists all possible options. Click on Delete. You will be asked to confirm your action (click OK).

What does the "email manager" do and how do I use it?

• What does the email manager do?:
  - You can use it to send email to anyone in our database, groups of people in our database and outside people too.
  - You can use it to view all emails you have sent as well as all automatically generated emails ever sent
• How do I send an email to one or more individuals currently listed in our database?
  - Go to the "email manager"
  - The first list "To (individuals)" lists the names and emails of the people you want to email. It will be empty.
  - Follow the instructions bellow it and click the link "here" to add recepients to to the list.
  - A small window will open with a list of people's names. Click on the person's name (hold Ctrl+click to select more than 1 person) and then click the button "Add Recepient(s)" to add them to the list.
  When done click "close window" to return to the previous page.
  - Type in a subject for the message and the message itself in the fields below.
  - Click "Send Email"
• How do I send an email to a group of people currently listed in our database?
  - This process is the same as the previous point, except that you will click the link below the second list called "To (groups)". You will be able to select from the groups previously created. You can edit and create groups using the "user manager"
• How do I send an email to someone who is not listed in our database?
  - Just type in the person's email in the field "Others". If you would like to email more than one person, add a list of emails, separated by a comma. Then fill type in the subject and the email text and click "Send Email"
• To view all sent emails:
  - go to "email manager"
  - use the link at the bottom of the page, bellow the "Send Email" button

What is the "user manager" used for?

• Editing other users' personal details (in case someone needs their name or email changed and cannot do it themselves)
• Changing non-Rutgers employees' password & secret question/answer (in case someone needs their password or secret q/a reset)
• Managing which groups a user belongs to (adding a user to the "committee members" group so they can review protocols, or adding users to the screening or full committee groups so they can be assigned to meetings, assigning assistants to pi's, etc.)

  
  The user manager can be used to give users different permissions by adding them to different groups. This can also be done by the group manager, however the user manager's function is intended for adding a single user to multiple groups while the group manager is intended for adding multiple users to a single group

What is the "group manager" used for?

• Creating groups (in case you need an additional group of users so you can assign them to meetings, or send emails to)
• Editing group members

  
  The group manager can be used to give users different permissions by adding them to different groups. This can also be done by the user manager, however the user manager's function is intended for adding a single user to multiple groups while the group manager is intended for adding multiple users to a single group

What is the "database browser" and what is it used for?

The database browser provides a "raw" view of the database. It shows all the tables that are used behind the scenes. You can use the browser to view the tables and the records in them but you can also edit the data and insert new records. Since the relationships between the tables are very complicated and many of the values are just numbers and do not mean a lot to us humans it is highly recommended not to make any changes or add records unless you have profound knowledge of the way the system operates and what the relationships between the tables are. In order to use the database browser you need a password. This password is different from your NetID password which you use to log in.

What is the "reports manager" and what is it used for?

As the name suggests the reports manager is used to generate data reports. It provides a convenient way of obtaining large quantities of data about protocols, agendas, etc., that would otherwise require many many clicks. For example you could generate a list of all questions posted about all the protocols that will be discussed for this month's agenda. This is only one of the many reports which are currenly being developed.

How to properly defer a protocol:

1. Go to the protocol manager and view the last (current) version of the corresponding protocol
2. Change the status of the protocol to 'Deferred'
3. Move the protocol to the desired agenda. This will create a copy of the last protocol version and all questions asked during the previous agenda, just for reference.

For Principal Investigators:

How do I submit: an all new protocol / amendment / continuing review / denovo?

1. Go to the "forms & instructions" page and download the correct form
2. Go to "my protocols"
3. At the bottom of the page you will see a list of links. Click on the one that best describes what you want to do
4. Then:
   
   - If submitting a new protocol: Type in the title of your protocol and attach any files necessary. Instructions on attaching files are provided on the page itself. Please read carefully.
   
   - If submitting an amendment/continuing review/denovo: you will be displayed a list of all the protocols you are the PI for. Select the protocol you are submitting an amendment/cont. review/denovo for and click "Proceed". Attach any files necessary. Instructions on attaching files are provided on the page itself. Please read carefully.

What are the forms listed on the "forms & instructions" page?

The "forms & instructions" page lists all the forms you will need when making submissions. The page lists the "new protocol form" which you will use if you need to submit a brand new protocol for approval.

Then we have the "amendment form" which is currently being developed.

Further down you will see a list of one or more continuing review and de novo forms. Continuing review forms are protocol specific and are already partially prefilled for your convenience. Prefilled continuing review forms become available a few months before they are due for submission.

De novo forms are listed in a similar way to continuing reviews. As of right now they are not prefilled but we hope to be able to do that soon.

How do I check the status of my protocols?

Go to "my protocols" and look at the column called "Protocol Status"

How do I view/answer any questions/remarks about my protocol?

1. Go to "my protocols". You will see a list of all your protocols. Click on the link "current version" next to the corresponding protocol.
2. If you scroll down to the bottom of the page you will see a section called "Questions" with a link to the questions page (if there are any).
3. In the questions page you will see a list of questions. Click on the "reply" link next to a question. You will be brought to a new page which will display the question and a form where you can type your reply. You can submit as many replies as you want. Once you submit a reply it will be displayed on this same page under "Replies" and you will have the options to edit or delete it.

   
   Please note that you can only submit/edit/delete your replies only when the protocol status says your response is required.

How do I access someone elses protocols (e.g. to submit a new protocol / amendment / continuing review / denovo for someone else)?

• You need to be listed as an assistant of the PI. To do that you first need to be registered for our website. Then provide the PI with the username you use to access this website (e.g. your NetID) and ask him/her to give you access to her protocols. For more info on how to do that please see next question.
• Once you have access a link will show up in the "PI Assistants Menu" for each PI that you are an assistant to. The link will look like "xyz's protocols", where "xyz" is the PI's username.

How do I give someone else access / take away access to my protocols (e.g. to make submissions for me)?

• Give access:
  - Make sure the person has previously registered for our website. Then obtain the username that person uses to access our website (e.g. NetID).
  - Go to "assistants manager" and type in the username in the available field and click "Add Assistant".
• Take away access:
  - Go to "assistants manager"
  - Click on the "delete" link next to the assistant's name
  - You will be asked to confirm this deletion (click OK)

For Committee Members:

What is the difference between "protocols I need to review" and "all protocols"?

All committe members are supposed to review all protocols and be able to comment on them. However each time a number of committee members are assigned a particular protocol that they have to pay special attention to and produce a written review. If you have any such assignments they will be listed under "protocols I need to review". "all protocols" lists all currently active protcols, including the one you have been assigned to review.

What is "my agenda"?

This is where you will find information about all meetings (screening or full committee) you need to attend. Viewing agenda information will also provide you with a list of all protocols that are going to be discussed at the corresponding meeting.

Which protocols are going to be reviewed at the next meeting and how do I access them?

• Go to "my agenda"
• Locate the agenda for the current month and click on the "list protocols" link under the options column
• If you scroll down you will see a list of all protocols to be reviewed at the meetings for this agenda
• You can view these protocols by clicking the "view" link next to each protocol. You will be taken to another page that will provide more details about the protocol.

How to review a protocol most efficiently?

There are two methods of reviewing a protocol. Please try them both and decide which one works better for you.

Method 1:

• Navigate to the correct protocol's detail page.
• Using the "download" link provided for each file under the "Files" section you can download and print/view the protocol forms.
• Then you can submit your questions/remarks by using the link provided under the "Questions" section.

Method 2 (preferred):

• Navigate to the protocol's most current version page (refer to the previous section for more info).
• Click on the "review" link (Note: To our knowledge, this feature currently only works in Micrososft Internet Explorer. We are working on correcting that.). This will open a new window divided in 2 parts. The top part will contain the file you are reviewing and the lower part will display questions previously asked and will allow you to submit new questions without having to change windows.

When I try to use the "Review" link for a protocol I get a blank screen. How can I fix that?

If you are using Internet Explorer on Windows XP it is possible that the browser is blocking the page from showing up thinking it is a pop-up since it opens in a new window. If that is the case you should see a warning like the one below.

Click OK. Then at the top of the page you should see a notification that reads "To help protect your security, Internet Explorer blocked ..." (see screenshot below).

Click on that bar and select the correct option to allow this file to be displayed (see screenshot below).

What is the "reports manager" and what is it used for?

As the name suggests the reports manager is used to generate data reports. It provides a convenient way of obtaining large quantities of data about protocols, agendas, etc., that would otherwise require many many clicks.

For example you could generate a list of all questions you have posted about all the protocols that will be discussed for this month's agenda. This is only one of the many reports which are currenly being developed.