All new applications for ethics review as well as post-review forms, such as annual updates and amendment requests, must be submitted to ICEHR via the Memorial Researcher Portal. Applications and/or forms will not be accepted via email.

  

Applications

Memorial-affiliated researchers, or external researchers who wish to recruit Memorial faculty, staff, and/or students as research participants, must apply to ICEHR for ethics review via the Memorial Researcher Portal.

There are 4 ICEHR applications in the Researcher Portal, each described below. If you are unsure which application is most appropriate for your project, please contact ICEHR before completing or submitting an application.

ICEHR reserves the right to return incorrectly submitted or incomplete applications to researchers. Ethics review will not proceed until the appropriate application and/or revisions have been received.

 

Application for Ethics Review

This is the main ICEHR application for ethics review of research involving human participants conducted by Memorial faculty, staff, and/or students affiliated with the St. John’s campus or the Marine Institute. If you are affiliated with Grenfell Campus please click here. If your research is (or may be) health research please click here.

Applications should be submitted at least four weeks before the intended start date for data collection. However, review may take up to six weeks during periods of high volume, or to accommodate holiday and/or vacation absences, or longer in the event of ethically controversial proposals.

Application for Ethics Review (Sub-Project)

Students who are working on a sub-portion of an already approved project as part of their dissertation, thesis, or other degree requirements may be eligible to complete the Application for Ethics Review (Sub-Project).

If a proposal submitted as a 'sub-project' is deemed too dissimilar from the larger project, ICEHR reserves the right to require the researcher to resubmit using the main application.

Application for Ethics Review (Secondary Use of Data)

Researchers whose projects involve the secondary use of data which was originally collected for a purpose other than the proposed research purpose may be required to submit the Application for Ethics Review (Secondary Use of Data). Ethics review of this type of research is required if the original data was not collected anonymously and/or is not available in the public domain (Articles 2.2, 2.4, TCPS 2, 2018).

Application for Secondary Review

This application is for external researchers who wish to recruit Memorial faculty, students, and/or staff as research participants, for projects which are already reviewed and approved by their own primary / jurisdictional Canadian REB. The principal investigator of the already approved project, or a Memorial-affiliated researcher who is a team member, must submit this application to ICEHR via the Researcher Portal, along with the previously approved application and REB approval letter. 

TCPS 2: CORE Requirement

The TCPS 2: Course on Research Ethics (CORE)-2022 is a nine module tutorial designed to introduce researchers to the TCPS 2 guidelines.

Faculty, staff, and student researchers must complete the TCPS 2: CORE prior to submitting a new application to ICEHR for review as a principal investigator. Since April 1, 2017, student applications must also include the academic supervisor's TCPS 2: CORE certificate. 

Effective January 1st 2024, the ICEHR will no longer accept TCPS 2 CORE certificates dated prior to 2022. The Secretariat on Responsible Conduct of Research recently announced the publication of the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans – TCPS 2 (2022), which replaces TCPS 2 (2018). All applications to the ICEHR after January 1st 2024 will require new certification before the application is assigned for review.

There are 9 self-paced modules in the TCPS2: CORE-2022, and each is followed by a quiz with 4-5 knowledge testing questions. New to the certification is that upon completion of the modules there is a 25-question knowledge consolidation exercise. In order to successfully obtain the CORE-2022 Certificate of Completion, respondents must correctly answer 20 of the 25 questions. For more information and the login page go to https://tcps2core.ca/welcome. Questions about the tutorial should be directed to the Secretariat on Responsible Conduct of Research secretariat@srcr-scrr.gc.ca which administers the TCPS2: CORE-2022. 

Certificates of completion must be included with your application submission to ICEHR, or your application will be returned to you.

Also, if research assistants or other project team members will collect data with human participants, you will be required to provide their CORE certificate before ethics approval is granted.

CLICK HERE to login/register for the TCPS 2: CORE

  

Post-Review Event Forms

All event forms must be submitted from a Researcher Portal account. All approved applications that you are associated with as a PI or team member are accessible from the 'Applications: Post Review' link on your portal account homepage. Any project team member can submit an event form.

Please refer to the Post-review Application Management manual and/or video for guidance on how to submit an event form.

Annual Update

Complete this event form annually, prior to the expiration of your clearance, to renew your ethics clearance for another year, or to close your file if the project is completed or terminated.

Submission of an annual update is required by Article 6.14 (Continuing Research Ethics Review) of the TCPS 2. If your project was completed and/or terminated since your last update, you are required to complete the update form to request closure of your file. Supervisors may complete the annual update form on behalf of a student who has graduated and/or is unable to complete the annual update form.

Amendment Request

Complete this form to request changes to an approved protocol that may raise ethical concerns. Proposed changes must be reviewed and approved by ICEHR prior to implementation.

Adverse Event Report

Complete this event form to report an adverse event or unanticipated effect.

Personnel Change Notification

Complete this event form to add and/or remove project team members to your project.

Funding and/or Partner Change Request

Complete this event form to add or change project funding and/or partners for an ongoing ethics clearance.

 

* If you are affiliated with Grenfell Campus please click here. If your research is (or may be) health research please click here.