Below is a listing of several questions that have been posed to the UREB. If you have a question that is not answered here, please contact the Research Ethics Coordinator. Your query will be answered as quickly as possible and may be posted here to assist other researchers.
• What is the document Policies and Procedures: Ethics Review of Research Involving Humans?
• Why are you so concerned with my sentence structure and spelling?
• What is the UREB Mandate?
• What requires ethics review? Are there exceptions?
• What are the main principals of ethical research?
• Who/What determines the reviewers?
• Who needs ethics review?
• Can I begin my research while awaiting ethics approval?
What is the document Policies and Procedures: Ethics Review of Research Involving Humans?
The Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (1998) is a comprehensive document that describes the policies of the three federal granting councils (CIHR , NSERC, and SSHRC). At Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU), all research with humans must adhere to the ethical guidelines presented in the MSVU Senate-approved policy ~ Policies and Procedures: Ethics Review of Research Involving Humans. The intent of the MSVU document is to develop and support the highest level of ethical standards possible and to protect both participants and members of the university community who conduct research. Accordingly, the guiding ethical principles outlined in the Tri-Council Policy inform this document. The research addressed in this document refers to research conducted with humans as subjects unless otherwise indicated.
What is the UREB Mandate?
To approve, reject, propose modifications to, or terminate any proposed or on-going research involving human subjects which is conducted within, or by members, of the institution.
What are the main principals of ethical research?
- Respect for human dignity
- Respect for free and informed consent
- Respect for vulnerable persons
- Respect for privacy and confidentiality
- Respect for justice and inclusiveness
- Balancing harm and benefits
- Maximizing benefits
Who needs ethics review?
- Faculty – Full-Time and Part-Time
- Students – Undergraduate, Graduate, and Post Doctoral
- University Administration and Staff
- External parties to the university if they are conducting research on MSVU property or with members of the Mount Community (faculty, students, administration, staff)
What requires ethics review?
- Quantitative research
- Qualitative Research
- Externally funded or internally funded projects by Faculty, administration, students, staff
- Non-funded projects by Faculty, administration, students, staff
- Graduate Theses
- Honours Theses
- Masters Research Projects
- Directed or independent studies (normally through departmental review)
- Class projects (normally through departmental review)
- University surveys, questionnaires, etc. that are not for quality assurance.
Are there exceptions?
Research that fall in the following categories are exceptions to the Ethics Policy (however, when in doubt, contact the UREB Office for confirmation and/or waivers):
- Research on a living individual in the public arena or artist where the research is based exclusively on information already in the public domain (if you plan on interviewing this person or a third party, then ethics protocol approval is required)
- Quality assurance studies
- Performance reviews
- Testing within normal educational requirements
Who/What determines the reviewers?
The UREB does proportionate reviews, that is, the more invasive the research, the more scrutiny the ethics review application receives.
Normally, the following principals are used:
Ethics review applications that are submitted are vetted by the UREB Research Ethics Coordinator to determine risk factor. If the research poses minimal risk, two reviewers are assigned (at least one if possible that is versed in the area of the study). Research that exceeds minimal risk are distributed to the full committee for review. Approval for these protocols cannot be given until the committee meets in person (normally once every month except in July/August).
Can I begin my research while awaiting ethics approval?
No. All research with human subjects must be approved prior to the research commencing. Failure to adhere to this policy will result in misconduct and appropriate measures will be sought.
Why are you so concerned with my sentence structure and spelling?
Any items (i.e. letters, consent forms, surveys, questionnaires, etc) that will be in the public domain are expected to be free of grammatical errors and spelling. Errors such as these can reflect poorly on you as the researcher, as well as the institution that you are affiliated with. Participants may wonder about your ability and function as a researcher if minor issues like spelling and grammar are present. Also, the UREB expects the researcher to function in a professional manner and these errors do not reflect professionalism.