Research that does require ethics review

The following kinds of research require review and approval by an REB before the research begins:

• Research involving living human participants. 
• Research involving human remains, cadavers, tissues, biological fluids, embryos or foetuses. 
• Research about a living individual in the public arena if s/he is to be interviewed and/or private papers accessed. 
• Research involving secondary use of data (use of data initially collected for another purpose) - health records, employee records, student records, computer listings, banked tissue - if any form of identifier is involved and/or if private information pertaining to individuals is involved. 
• Quality assurance studies and program evaluations which address a research question. 

REB review of program evaluation is required only if it is conducted for research purposes and/or as a component of a research project, such as a student thesis. Although program evaluation uses similar data collection methods as those employed in research, the intended use of the collected data determines whether it fits the TCPS2 definiton of research that requires REB review. The TCPS2 exempts from REB review program evaluation activities normally administered in the ordinary course of operation of an organization (see Article 2.5). If data collected for such activities is later analyzed for a research purpose, it is considered secondary use of information not originally intended for research, and may require REB review at that time.

 

Research that does not require ethics review

The following kinds of studies do not require ethics review (TCPS 2 Articles 2.2 to 2.4).

• Research about individuals in the public arena using only publicly available or accessible records without contact with the individual/s. 
• Research involving naturalistic observation in public venues. 
• Quality assurance studies, program evaluations, performance reviews, and testing within normal educational and/or organizational requirements, to be used for assessment and/or improvement purposes; and there is no research question involved. 
• Research based on review of published/publicly reported literature. 
• Research involving secondary use of data (Article 5.5) which is provided without any identifier or group of identifiers which would allow attribution of private information to an individual. 
• Consulting, unless carried out under the auspices of the university. 

If you are unsure whether or not your project requires ethics review, please contact ICEHR at icehr@mun.ca or 864-2861.

Research with Human Participants

Privacy Compliance Review 

Memorial University's privacy policy requires that projects exempt from ethics review undergo a privacy compliance review if: 

(a) they are conducted by and/or on behalf of administrative units; and

(b) personal information will be used, collected, or disclosed

Please download and complete the self-assessment questionnaire to determine if this may be applicable to your project.

 

Institutional Survey Policy

Surveys for assessment, evaluation, quality assurance, management, improvement, and other non-research purposes are subject to Memorial's Institutional Survey Policy, which is administered by the Centre for Institutional Analysis and Planning (CIAP).

To request approval for an institutional survey, please follow the application procedures outlined here.