Human Research Ethics

The following table shows which studies require approval and which form to complete (see “How do I apply?” tab), based upon key characteristics of your research.

If you are not sure whether your research project requires ethics approval, we urge you to contact us as soon as possible to discuss. For graduate students in particular, failing to obtain research ethics approval could have serious implications for your thesis or dissertation defense and your ability to graduate. 

Approval required

Ethics approval is required for projects that involve but are not limited to the following:

• Individual interviews
• Group discussions
• Questionnaires, surveys
• Self reflective research - autoethnographies, autobiographical narratives
• Audio recording, video taping or photographing people
• Research by students in a UVic course (course-based research)
• Observations
• Linked data
• Human biological materials: fluids, tissue, bones, cells, stem cells, remains, cadavers, embryos, fetuses, DNA/RNA or fragments of DNA/RNA
• Some forms of research conducted on the Internet
• Secondary data (information gathered for a non-research purpose to be used in research such as grades/report cards, course assignments, health records, minutes of non-public meetings, diaries)

Please contact us at ethics@uvic.ca or 250-472-4545.

Standard application

Most UVic research involving human participants requires research ethics review using the standard research ethics application (Application for Ethics Approval for Human Research Participants). Please read the annotated guidelines before completing the  application.

Specialized application

A specialized ethical review (waiver application) is permitted in very limited circumstances. It does not release researchers from any other applicable legal obligations such as protecting a person’s right to privacy, fulfilling copyright requirements, etc.

If your study does not meet one of the following requirements, you will need to submit the standard research ethics application:

Research that may qualify for a specialized HREB ethical review:

1. Research that is limited to analysis of anonymized secondary data. “Anonymized” means that the data cannot identify or be linked to the individuals who provided it. All forms of data (usually databases) must be supplied to the researcher in completely anonymous formats. The anonymized data may be in the public domain (e.g., Statistics Canada) or not (e.g., collected by a professor who decides who may have access to the data).You may submit a specialized application form if you are being supplied anonymous data that has already been linked. However, if further information is required, we may require you to submit an ethics application form. Contact us at 250-472-4545 or ethics@uvic.ca before submitting a waiver form if you are using linked data.
2. Research that involves a living individual in the public arena or about an artist, based exclusively on publicly available information, documents, records, works, performances, or archival materials.
3. Research that involves observation of participants who are seeking public visibility such as speakers at public political demonstrations, public meetings, etc.
4. Research that involves observations in an open public setting (e.g., parking lot or public park) and that:
   • does not allow for the identification of the participants
   • does not involve staging or manipulating the setting or circumstances

   If the study meets these requirements, but is conducted in a public space that involves observing children under the age of 13, you must have a plan in place to address potential concerns that may arise about an adult watching young children.

5. Student research within a professor’s active UVic HREB-approved project (ethics approval has not expired). This category refers only to students who will not be undertaking any of their own research outside of the professor’s study. They must only use work completed for the professor’s project for their own student project/thesis/dissertation.

Biosafety

In addition to undergoing a standard human research ethics review, research procedures using microorganisms, recombinant DNA and human blood, tissues and fluids must be reviewed by the UVic biosafety committee. Researchers should complete a human materials form when their research involves collecting human materials or coming into contact with human fluids such as blood.  When applicable, human research ethics approval is conditional upon approval from the UVic Biosafety Committee.  Please contact our office at 250-472-4545 or ethics@uvic.ca for more information.

Course-based

IMPORTANT - Deadlines for course-based ethics applications

As part of their teaching strategies related to research, many instructors assign class projects and activities in which students must collect data from human participants. 

Course-based research assignments vary in scope, but they all include gathering data from human participants for class presentations, reports or other activities considered research within the discipline in which the course is taught. Please see the application for ethical review of course-based research and guidelines for course-based research.

Joint UVic/VIHA

If you intend to conduct research that involves any agency under the auspice of the Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA) you will need to apply to the UVic/VIHA Joint Research Ethics Subcommittee. This includes the recruitment of participants through any agency under the auspices of VIHA. Please see the UVic/VIHA joint application and the Joint UVic-VIHA Annotated Guidelines.

Exemptions from Human Research Ethics

An application form is not required for:

1. Research limited to the use of materials in the public domain and for which all applicable copyright, patent, or other legal requirements and approvals have been either fulfilled or received.
2. Research limited to ethical assessment of the institutional quality of programs and services, as outlined in the University of Victoria’s policy 3850 . (Please note that this policy applies to internal quality assurance, performance review or testing within the University of Victoria only.)

   Ethical approval from the HREB may be required for activities that border on or may include elements of research. Determination of whether a quality assessment activity requires HREB approval will be made through consultation with the Chair of the HREB and the Director of Institutional Planning and Analysis.

3. Research where the professor and student are co-investigators. In this case, the student is not required to submit an individual ethics application form. Both the professor and the student must be named as co-investigators on the professor’s research ethics application form and the certificate of approval.
4. Research conducted by faculty and staff as an outside professional activity. This usually applies to a university member acting in their capacity as a private contractor, whether incorporated or not. A research ethics application is not required only if:
   • No aspect of the research, from proposal to completion, is undertaken by asserting connection or affiliation with the University of Victoria (e.g., university title, the university logo, letterhead and name are not used).
   • The research is not conducted at the University of Victoria and does not use the University’s resources.
   • The results disseminated in the public domain do not indicate association with the University.
5. Students conducting research outside the auspices of the University of Victoria and/or its academic programs. For example, students on work terms or co-op terms do not need to obtain HREB approval provided:
   • the research is entirely under the control of an outside agency that has no research affiliation with the University of Victoria;
   • the research is not directly supervised by University of Victoria faculty or staff;
   • the research conforms to the three criteria stated in item 3 above for faculty and staff; and
   • the student does not plan to use the research project or data for academic credit (e.g., a thesis or major project)

**Please verify with our office.

Contact us at (250) 472-4545 or ethics@uvic.ca if you are not sure which application form applies to your study.

In general, you can expect a wait of 4-6 weeks for new, first-time applications to be reviewed and approved. If you’ve submitted a waiver, course-based, or in-principle application, you can expect a turn-around time of about two weeks. For annual renewals or modifications to a previously approved protocol, the wait time is about two weeks.

Please make sure that your application is complete before you submit it. If it’s incomplete it won’t be forwarded for review and will be held at the end of the queue until we receive the missing items. “Incomplete” usually refers to missing appendices or to sections of the application that were not completed, but it can also refer to poorly-written applications that don’t provide enough information on the study for a review to be undertaken.

We’ll email you at the address you provide on your application. If your application requires revisions before approval is granted (which is the case for the majority of applications), we’ll send you a “notice of ethical review” by email. It will outline the revisions the board is requesting. We’ll also email you when your application has been approved.

We prefer to contact you at your UVic email address, so please use that on your application. We’ve had delivery issues with external email providers (e.g., Hotmail, Yahoo) due to security and spam settings. If you prefer to use another primary email address rather than your UVic one, please provide us with both email addresses so we have an alternate email to reach you at.

In order to ensure that the applications can be approved in time for the start of the course, we have launched the following deadlines for instructors submitting Course-Based Ethics Applications:

August 1, for courses beginning in September (Fall Term)

December 1, for courses beginning in January (Winter Term)

April 1, for courses beginning in May/June (Spring Term)

June 1, for courses beginning in July/August (Summer Term)

Only course-based applications have these deadlines. No deadlines apply to our other ethics applications.

The Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS) is the joint research ethics policy statement of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).

The TCPS outlines standards and procedures for research involving humans and applies to those conducting, participating in, or reviewing human research in institutions funded by CIHR, NSERC or SSHRC. As a condition of funding, these three agencies require that researchers and more than 80 affiliated institutions follow the TCPS.

The TCPS was first published in August 1998 to promote the ethical conduct of research involving humans. The 2nd edition of the TCPS is expected to be released in Fall 2010.

We recommend that you go through the TCPS tutorial before applying. At the very least, we strongly recommend that you read the TCPS chapters that are relevant to your research.

Many departments have systems in place to help off-campus students obtain signatures and submit their application form to Research Ethics and when a supervisor is out of town or on sabbatical. 

Students should contact their departmental secretary and their supervisor. 

The supervisor and departmental office would then be responsible for coordination for obtaining the supervisor’s signature and an original signature (usually from the chair, director or dean) and forwarding the signed hard copy application to Research Ethics via campus mail.

For more information around signatures please see Guidelines for Signatures on Application Forms

Generally, yes. If you have received a grant to fund a study that needs ethics approval, then you will need approval before accessing funds.

If you need access to funding for preparatory activities (e.g. research design, hiring staff, consultation, travel), you can apply for in-principle approval. In-principle approval will allow you access to funds for about 10 months in order to carry out these activities.

Before the in-principle expiry date, you will need to submit a standard ethics application. It will need to be approved before you can initiate the participant recruitment and/or data collection phase of your research.

Generally yes. The Research Ethics Board will also consider the specifics of the study and the participants to determine whether this method of consent is acceptable for the study.

Online survey instruments based out the US (e.g., SurveyMonkey) are subject to the US Patriot Act. As such, there is a possibility that information collected via these surveys may be accessed, without the survey participant’s knowledge or consent, by the US government in compliance with the US Patriot Act.

For this reason, we require this information to be disclosed to research participants who will be using a US-based survey instrument during the consent process. (Preferably, this will be stated at the beginning of the questionnaire so that it is not overlooked by the participant.). Alternatively, you may choose to use a Canadian-based survey tool.

How long does the ethics review process take?

How long does the ethics review process take?

In general, you can expect a wait of 4-6 weeks for new, first-time applications to be reviewed and approved. If you’ve submitted a waiver, course-based, or in-principle application, you can expect a turn-around time of about two weeks. For annual renewals or modifications to a previously approved protocol, the wait time is about two weeks.

Please make sure that your application is complete before you submit it. If it’s incomplete it won’t be forwarded for review and will be held at the end of the queue until we receive the missing items. “Incomplete” usually refers to missing appendices or to sections of the application that were not completed, but it can also refer to poorly-written applications that don’t provide enough information on the study for a review to be undertaken.

How will I be notified of the status of my ethics review, or if it has been approved?

How will I be notified of the status of my ethics review, or if it has been approved?

We’ll email you at the address you provide on your application. If your application requires revisions before approval is granted (which is the case for the majority of applications), we’ll send you a “notice of ethical review” by email. It will outline the revisions the board is requesting. We’ll also email you when your application has been approved.

We prefer to contact you at your UVic email address, so please use that on your application. We’ve had delivery issues with external email providers (e.g., Hotmail, Yahoo) due to security and spam settings. If you prefer to use another primary email address rather than your UVic one, please provide us with both email addresses so we have an alternate email to reach you at.

Are there any deadlines?

Are there any deadlines?

In order to ensure that the applications can be approved in time for the start of the course, we have launched the following deadlines for instructors submitting Course-Based Ethics Applications:

August 1, for courses beginning in September (Fall Term)

December 1, for courses beginning in January (Winter Term)

April 1, for courses beginning in May/June (Spring Term)

June 1, for courses beginning in July/August (Summer Term)

Only course-based applications have these deadlines. No deadlines apply to our other ethics applications.

What is the Tri-Council Policy Statement (TCPS) and why is it important?

What is the Tri-Council Policy Statement (TCPS) and why is it important?

The Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS) is the joint research ethics policy statement of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).

The TCPS outlines standards and procedures for research involving humans and applies to those conducting, participating in, or reviewing human research in institutions funded by CIHR, NSERC or SSHRC. As a condition of funding, these three agencies require that researchers and more than 80 affiliated institutions follow the TCPS.

The TCPS was first published in August 1998 to promote the ethical conduct of research involving humans. The 2nd edition of the TCPS is expected to be released in Fall 2010.

Do I need to read the TCPS before writing my application?

Do I need to read the TCPS before writing my application?

We recommend that you go through the TCPS tutorial before applying. At the very least, we strongly recommend that you read the TCPS chapters that are relevant to your research.

What to do about signatures if I (or my supervisor) am off campus?

What to do about signatures if I (or my supervisor) am off campus?

Many departments have systems in place to help off-campus students obtain signatures and submit their application form to Research Ethics and when a supervisor is out of town or on sabbatical. 

Students should contact their departmental secretary and their supervisor. 

The supervisor and departmental office would then be responsible for coordination for obtaining the supervisor’s signature and an original signature (usually from the chair, director or dean) and forwarding the signed hard copy application to Research Ethics via campus mail.

For more information around signatures please see Guidelines for Signatures on Application Forms

Do I need ethics approval before I can access my funding?

Do I need ethics approval before I can access my funding?

Generally, yes. If you have received a grant to fund a study that needs ethics approval, then you will need approval before accessing funds.

If you need access to funding for preparatory activities (e.g. research design, hiring staff, consultation, travel), you can apply for in-principle approval. In-principle approval will allow you access to funds for about 10 months in order to carry out these activities.

Before the in-principle expiry date, you will need to submit a standard ethics application. It will need to be approved before you can initiate the participant recruitment and/or data collection phase of your research.

I will be interviewing participants by telephone. Can I obtain consent through email or fax?

I will be interviewing participants by telephone. Can I obtain consent through email or fax?

Generally yes. The Research Ethics Board will also consider the specifics of the study and the participants to determine whether this method of consent is acceptable for the study.

I have heard there are privacy issues using Internet surveys based in the US. What are they?

I have heard there are privacy issues using Internet surveys based in the US. What are they?

Online survey instruments based out the US (e.g., SurveyMonkey) are subject to the US Patriot Act. As such, there is a possibility that information collected via these surveys may be accessed, without the survey participant’s knowledge or consent, by the US government in compliance with the US Patriot Act.

For this reason, we require this information to be disclosed to research participants who will be using a US-based survey instrument during the consent process. (Preferably, this will be stated at the beginning of the questionnaire so that it is not overlooked by the participant.). Alternatively, you may choose to use a Canadian-based survey tool.

Do I need to notify the ethics office when my study is complete?

Do I need to notify the ethics office when my study is complete?

Yes, once the recruitment and data collection phase of your study is complete, you must notify our office by submitting the project completion form. You can download the form and email it to us at ethics@uvic.ca.