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Departmental Research Ethics Review

Undergraduate course-based research activities may be delegated to a departmental Research Ethics Committee (REC) if you meet the specific criteria.

If your research qualifies for departmental ethics review, you must fill out a REC Review Application form and submit it to your department's research ethics committee (REC).

If your department does not have a REC (check for REC), you must submit an ethics application to the Research Ethics Board, using the ROMEO research portal instead.

Before Completing the Application

You must review Laurier’s Policy 11.13 on Ethics Review of Research Involving Humans.

All individuals listed on the application for review must also complete the current online TCPS 2 Course on Research Ethics (CORE) and provide proof of completion.

REC Review Criteria

Your research activity may qualify for departmental research ethics committee (REC) review if you meet all of the following criteria:

  • You and all members of your group are undergraduate students.
  • Your department has a departmental REC.
  • Your research activity is course-based (i.e. not undergraduate theses or equivalent research projects such as directed studies and major research papers). Such pedagogical activities are normally required of students with the objective of providing them with exposure to research methods in their field of study. Examples of course-based research activities include:
    • Structured or semi-structured Interviews with key informants working in a particular area/field (e.g., professors, not-for-profit organizations, employers)
    • Surveys with family/friends/other students/members of the general public
    • Focus groups/group interviews with employees or members of an organization or group
  • Your supervisor/instructor will not be using the research data as part of their own research program and data will not be used outside of the course.
  • Your research activity is considered minimal risk to human participants (see the definitions of risk).
  • The research does not aim to recruit Indigenous Peoples (including First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples of Canada), use Indigenous identity or membership in an Indigenous community as a variable for analysis, or meet other criteria that would require Indigenous community engagement in accordance with Chapter 9 of the TCPS 2 (2022).
  • Your research does not involve individuals, groups, or populations in vulnerable circumstances. This includes individuals who lack decision-making capacity (e.g., children, those living with cognitive impairments, persons who are not able to legally consent to participate in research).

If any of the above criteria is not met, the project must be submitted to the University Research Ethics Board (REB).

* In some cases, graduate classwork may be subject to review by the REC. This can only occur if the instructor has sought previous approval to do so from the REB. Details on this process can be found in the Request for REC Review for Graduate-Level Course-Based Research Projects document.

How to Apply

If you meet the criteria: 

  1. Complete the REC Review Application form.
  2. Attach a copy of the TCPS 2 CORE Certificate for all individuals listed on the application (students and supervisors). CORE certificates must be renewed every four years.
  3. Send all completed forms and attachments, including your information and consent letter for participants, to your department’s REC for review. See list below. Submitting the form confirms that you have read and agree to comply with Laurier’s Policy 11.13 on Ethics Review of Research Involving Humans.
  4. Wait for approval from your departmental REC prior to recruiting participants or beginning your research.

All correspondence related to your application will be sent to your Laurier email address. 

Reminders

  • Be sure to complete the form and provide all relevant attachments listed in the checklist.
  • Projects with incomplete or inadequate forms and supporting materials take longer to process.

Next Steps

  • Once you submit your application, your department’s REC will usually request changes and/or ask clarifying questions.
  • The REC Chair must review the revised application, including any changes, and provide approval prior to beginning research. Participant recruitment can not begin until you've received REC approval.
  • Once your project has received approval, you cannot change or modify it without approval from your department’s REC. You must obtain this approval before implementing any changes. To request approval, email your REC.

Additional Considerations

Application Process

When Different Students in the Class are Completing Different Research Projects

When individual students (or groups of students) within a class will each undertake different research projects, each student (or group of students) will need to prepare their own application for ethics review.

  • The course instructor would be supervising the research project and should be listed as the Principal Investigator (PI) on these applications.
  • All students should also be listed as members of their own research project team.

When Everyone in the Class is Working on the Same Research Project

When individual members (or groups of students) within a class will each be undertaking the same research project, the instructor may submit one application (as the PI) on behalf of the entire class.
The research must meet the following criteria:

  • Each student (or group of students) must be assigned essentially the same research question or problem to answer.
  • The instructor must provide copies of materials to be used (including recruitment and consent letters, and any questionnaires or surveys). You may upload one template to be used by all groups or students and you may identify and highlight sections that can be changed by students to include their project-specific details.
  • Only the class instructor can submit requests for modifications.

Course Timelines

It is the instructor’s responsibility to ensure that it is feasible to obtain ethics review and complete a research project within the course timeframe. Instructors should ensure students have enough time to:

  • develop a research idea and methodology,
  • prepare an application, and
  • go through the multi-step REB or REC review process ahead of participant recruitment and data collection activities.

Courses that are only one term long can make timelines challenging. In this case, we recommend that instructors submit ethics applications in advance of the term when feasible, and to structure research activities that fit criteria for departmental ethics committee review when possible.

Please see REB Timelines for more information on average REB review timelines.

Research Content

Students are often interested in conducting research on topics that they find interesting and engaging. However, it is very important to carefully consider the topics selected. Higher-than-minimal-risk research and longitudinal designs are examples of projects that should be carefully considered by the faculty advisor/ course instructor to ensure that the ethics review and approval process and research activities will fit into the proposed timeframe. Examples of research topics that may be considered higher than minimal risk and/or require a higher level of review include:

  • ingesting, smelling, tasting, and application of substances that pose health risks
  • answering questions relating to sexual or physical abuse, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts and actions
  • asking for or providing medical/health information or clinical diagnoses, particularly if this information is associated with identifiers
  • reporting of illegal activities
  • clinical trials
  • projects involving participants deemed vulnerable in the context of research (e.g., people with cognitive impairment, people experiencing homelessness)
  • research that aims to recruit Indigenous Peoples (including First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples of Canada), use Indigenous identity or membership in an Indigenous community as a variable for analysis, or meet other criteria that would require Indigenous community engagement in accordance with Chapter 9 of the TCPS 2 (2022)
  • multi-institutional / multi-jurisdictional research

Please ensure to consult with your faculty advisor/course instructor on your research design to determine what is appropriate for the timeframe of the project and level of research being conducted.

Departmental REC Contacts 

Departmental REC Documents