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The Research Ethics Board is excited to announce we have developed several new resources for researchers, including NEW document templates! (Consent, assent, confidentiality agreement, debriefing, and recruitment documents – PREP/LSRPS, email, poster, telephone script.)
These resources will be available on our General Ethics Guidelines and Informed Consent Guidelines webpages.
We are also continuing to offer instructional drop-in sessions to all researchers over Zoom! Weekly sessions will start on September 22nd and run until April 13th (excluding December 29, 2022).
Join our virtual drop-in sessions every Thursday from 3:00pm – 4:00pm on Zoom
(Note that you must be signed into Zoom to attend.)
The Secretariat on Responsible Conduct of Research (Secretariat) has launched a new version of the Tri-Council Policy Statement 2: Course on Research Ethics (TCPS2: CORE) tutorial, the TCPS2: CORE-2022. You may find the updated tutorial and further information on their website. While it is advised that all faculty, students, and staff engaging in research with human participants complete this new tutorial as soon as possible, it is not presently a requirement to do so. Laurier’s Research Ethics Board (REB) will continue to accept the older version of the TCPS2: CORE tutorial until further notice.
Please see the REB submission requirements for more information.
Please be advised that average REB review timelines will likely be delayed at this time as the REB continues to experience a high volume of new applications, modifications requests, research resumption requests, and inquiries.
All new and ongoing projects that involve in-person research activities with human participants, must follow Student Research Ethics Guidelines for Resuming In-Person Research.
REB guidelines are based on University and Public Health guidance and will continue to be updated accordingly as the situation continues to develop.
The Tri-Council Policy Statement 2: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS2) describes the principles, standards and procedures for governing research involving human participants in Canada. It is the basis for research ethics review at Laurier. All research involving human participants is governed by Laurier’s Policy 11.13: Ethics Review of Research Involving Humans and requires clearance from the University Research Ethics Board (REB) before any research begins. As a student planning to conduct research that involves human participants or human biological materials, you will have to obtain ethics clearance to ensure your research meets all relevant ethical guidelines.
The Research Ethics Board (REB) is responsible for ensuring University-wide understanding of, and compliance with, all applicable external and internal requirements. The REB must review and provide clearance for all research activities involving the use of human participants or human biological materials prior to research commencement. The REB reports to Senate through the Senate Committee on Research and Publications (SCRAP) and is composed of faculty members, graduate students, community members, and staff.
All research (both funded and non-funded) involving human participants and human biological materials that is considered to be under Laurier’s jurisdiction/auspices must obtain REB clearance prior to commencement. This includes research conducted by members or associated members of the University (e.g., Laurier faculty, emeritus faculty, staff, sessional instructors, administrators, students, visiting or adjunct scholars, postdoctoral fellows, paid or unpaid associates or assistants) acting in their University capacity, and research that utilizes Laurier resources (e.g., equipment, e-mail, meeting rooms). This also includes course-based research activities, the primary purpose of which is pedagogical.
Failing to follow TCPS2 and university policies or guidelines, applicable laws or regulations on research with human participants may be considered as research misconduct and a breach of the Tri-Agency Framework: Responsible Conduct of Research and University policy 12.2 Student Code of Conduct: Academic Misconduct. This applies to all research projects involving human participants regardless of funding status. Researchers must ensure that all of their projects that require REB review and approval, receive the REB review and approval prior to commencement of the project, and that the research is conducted as approved by the REB (either via original approval or a modification request). If unsure about whether your project requires REB review and approval you should consult directly with the REB.
Research is defined as an undertaking intended to extend knowledge through a disciplined inquiry or systematic investigation (TCPS 2, 2014).
Researchers are required to seek REB review and clearance prior to obtaining and/or using this data for research purposes.
Research with human participants and human biological materials includes both primary data collection and the secondary use of data.
Primary data collection includes the of use surveys, questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, observation, and experimental methods to gather data from human participants.
Secondary use of data refers to the use in research of information originally collected for a purpose other than the current research purpose. Examples include:
Human participants are those individuals whose data, or responses to interventions, stimuli or questions by the researcher, are relevant to answering the research question (TCPS 2, 2014).
Human biological materials include tissues, organs, blood, plasma, serum, DNA, RNA, proteins, cells, skin, hair, nail clippings, urine, saliva and other body fluids (TCPS 2, 2014).
Please note that research involving human biological materials may require clearance from the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) if it includes biohazardous materials (e.g., human tissues, cells, blood, and body fluids).
Undergraduate* course-based research activities may be delegated to a departmental Research Ethics Committee (REC) if they meet the specific criteria (see Before You Apply). 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, you will need to submit your ethics application to the Research Ethics Board. Please note that all Research Ethics Board applications are processed using the ROMEO research portal and require submission of a different application form.
Some research may be exempt from Research Ethics Board (REB) review. Determination of exemptions is based on institutional or regulatory criteria, including information provided in Chapter 2 of the TCPS 2 (2018), Articles 2.1-2.6. Please contact the REB for more information if you think your research may meet exemption criteria.
Note: Anonymous is distinct from anonymized or coded data that was initially collected with identifiers. Secondary use of anonymized and coded data is required to undergo REB review. Please see Identifiability of Information and Secondary Use of Data for details.
Research Ethics Board (REB) review is a multi-step and ongoing process involving administrative review, initial REB review, resubmission, and review of resubmissions. It is the principal investigator’s responsibility to ensure that the research team is able to meet any time sensitive deadlines and that projects are feasible to complete within restricted timeframes. Please ensure you review the REB's timelines and review process, and plan the submission of your REB application accordingly.
All Laurier researchers must complete the TCPS2 CORE Tutorial and submit the certificate(s) of completion with their ethics application.
Your research activity may qualify for departmental research ethics committee (REC) review if you meet all of the following criteria:
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.
Minimal risk research is research in which the probability and magnitude of possible harms implied by participation in the research is no greater than those encountered by participants in the aspects of their everyday life that relate to the research.
Types of risk may include physical, psychological/emotional, and social. Examples of research topics and procedures that may be considered higher than minimal risk include:If you are not sure whether your research qualifies as minimal risk, contact the Research Ethics Board for information and advice.
Your research must go through Research Ethics Board (REB) review if it does not meet all of the criteria for departmental REC review noted above.
Some research may be exempt from REB review. Determination of exemptions is based on institutional or regulatory criteria, including information provided in Chapter 2 of the TCPS 2 (2014), Articles 2.1-2.6. Please contact the REB if you think your research may fall under one of the following categories:
Note: Various university policies, agreements and privacy legislation further regulate the use of data collected and maintained by Laurier. Researchers seeking access to such data should ensure compliance with these items. Please see Privacy and Access at Laurier for more information.
Contact Us:
REB General Inquiries
E:
REB@wlu.ca
Office Location: Alumni Hall
Office Hours:
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.