Working with Reviewer Notes

Reviewer notes are used by to request revisions to or ask questions about an application. Study teams must respond to reviewer notes in order to move the application forward in the IRB review process.

Study teams can respond to reviewer notes in two ways: 1) within the application or 2) via the Reviewer Notes tab in the main study workspace.

Within the Application
When reviewer notes are ready for your review, you will find the application at the top of your inbox in the personal workspace. ARROW will indicate that action is required.
Select the study and click "Edit Application" on the left-hand side of the screen.
You can move from reviewer note to reviewer note by clicking “Next” next to the reviewer note panel at the top of each page of the application.
Responding to reviewer notes is generally a two-step process: Review the note and, if requested, make any necessary revisions to the application or study materials (e.g., consent document, protocol). After you have made the requested revisions, respond directly to the reviewer note by clicking “Click here to respond."
When you click on the reviewer note, a pop-up window will appear. You should respond to the review note by explaining what changes, if any, you made. If the revisions were straightforward, a simple “done” is sufficient as a response to the reviewer note.

From the Reviewer Notes Tab
Your reviewed study will be in your inbox for review. Select the study. Once you are within the study’s workspace, select the “Reviewer Notes” tab.
You will see a list of reviewer notes. Click on the "Jump To" link to go directly to the page in the application on which the reviewer note appears.

How do I edit my response to a reviewer note?

After you have responded to a reviewer note, you can edit your response by clicking on the Study Team Response Link for that reviewer note. This will open the note and allow you to edit your response. Please note that you cannot edit your responses to the reviewer notes after the application has been submitted back to the IRB office.

How do I send the application back to the IRB?

When you have finished responding to any reviewer notes, click “SUBMIT” under My Activities in the main study workspace to send the application to the IRB. After you click Submit, ARROW will automatically check if any reviewer notes may still require a response. If everything is complete, ARROW will send the application back to the IRB and the review process will continue.