Research Ethics & Safety: Human Participants

Research Ethics Board

Research or teaching involving human participants, human biological materials (e.g. blood, saliva, tissue, stem cells, etc.) or data collected on human participants either directly or indirectly, and even if non-invasive to the person, must have the prior approval of the UNBC Research Ethics Board (REB). The UNBC REB is responsible for ensuring all research or teaching conducted under the auspices of UNBC involving the use of human participants, human biological materials or data collected on human participants conforms to the UNBC Policy and Terms of Reference on Ethics Review of Research Involving Human Participants as well as the Tri-Council Policy Statement on the Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS 2 (2022)) which guides all human participant research in Canada. This includes research involving interviews, focus groups, aptitude testing, Internet surveys, telephone polls or psychological experiments for all minimal risk, above minimal risk, and multi-jurisdictional applications. Through the ethics application and review process the REB ensures there is a university-wide understanding of and compliance with all applicable external and internal ethics requirements. 

REB Forms

All new single jurisdictional protocols requiring ethics review must be submitted through the ROMEO Research Portal. For existing protocols that were submitted prior to the use of the Romeo Research Portal for ethics review, please note all studies continuing into 2025 are to be active in the ROMEO Research Portal. Please complete a New Application Form in ROMEO, noting the old application number (E#) that has need of renewal. 

Timeline for Ethics Approval Process

Step Description
Prepare

Create a user account and/or log into the Romeo Research Portal.

Prepare a new application form (see REB Forms for manuals and templates).

Complete the TCPS2 tutorial and upload certificate into Romeo as part of application.

Upload required attachments (e.g. research proposals, consent forms, recruitment scripts, etc.).
Apply

Press "Submit" on the application in Romeo.

  • If you are a student (or other non-faculty researcher), your academic supervisor will need to be the one to submit your Human Ethics application on your behalf by clicking on "Submit" from their own ROMEO account. Please ensure your supervisor is "Principal Investigator" (PI) and that you are the "Principal Applicant" (PA) in the ROMEO application prior to submission. ROMEO applications received from student accounts will be returned by the Office of Research and Innovation for re-submission.
Review

Minimal Risk applications are reviewed on an ongoing basis.

  • Please allow three weeks from the submission date for a response from the REB.
  • Should the REB determine the application to be Above Minimal Risk (see risk assessment guidelines), the research team will be notified immediately and informed of the next upcoming meeting date for full board review.

Above Minimal Risk applications are given full board reviews at meetings held on a monthly basis.

  • Must be submitted by the Application Due Date (see meeting schedule).
  • Please allow two weeks from the full board meeting date for a response from the REB. 

Additional information may be requested by the REB to be included with your application before it is considered ready for review. 

Revisions are typically requested by the REB as provisos issued after your new application has been accepted and given review.
Approval Receive REB Approval by email once your application has been approved through REB review. 
Amend* Submit an Amendment Form for any updates or changes that need to be made to your research protocol that were not outlined in your approved original application.
Renew* Submit an Annual Renewal and Progress Study Form to renew ethics approval on an annual basis.
Report Unanticipated Problems* Submit an Unanticipated Problem Form to report any unanticipated problem that increases the level of risk to participants or has other ethical implications.
Close* Submit a Closure Form once data collection and all meaningful engagement with human participants for the study is complete.

*In each application, click "Events" to access the post-approval forms for amendments, renewals, problems, and closures. While these forms may be prepared by various project team members, they must be submitted and/or re-submitted by the Primary Investigator (PI) as the final signing authority for the study.

Minimal Risk Applications

Applications for research projects that meet the Tri-Council definition of minimal risk will be eligible for delegated review by the REB. Minimal risk applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, and will normally be reviewed by two REB Members and the Chair of the REB. Please allow three weeks from the submission date for a response from the REB. Note that during the months of July and August we cannot guarantee a specific turnaround time for a response as the minimal risk applications are reviewed upon the availability of REB members. 

To determine whether your research is Minimal Risk, please consult the UNBC Research Risk Assessment Guidelines.

Above Minimal Risk Applications

Applications considered to be above minimal risk must be submitted by the "Application Due Date" referred to in the 2025 REB Meeting Schedule and Application Due Dates. Please allow two weeks from the Meeting Date for a response from the REB. Note that above minimal risk applications will not be reviewed during the months of July or August. 

Multi-jurisdictional Applications

If your application is multi-jurisdictional, having two or more Research Ethics BC partners (REBC partners), and is to be processed as a harmonized research ethics review for the involved partner institutions, please complete an application through the Provincial Research Ethics Platform (PREP) which entered hard launch on January 1, 2019. All new multi-jurisdictional applications involving REBC partners will only be processed through PREP. Joint research projects involving the Northern Health Authority and UNBC are to be completed through PREP. There are no procedural changes for non-REBC partners involved in a multi-jurisdictional protocol. Non-REBC partner institutions will still require their own institutional ethics application form to be submitted to their REB for investigators under their auspice.

More information and resources on multi-jurisdictional applications can be found online at Research Ethics BC.

Classroom Projects

Classroom projects involving research by students must be submitted by the instructor for REB approval prior to the semester of the course in order to ensure review and revisions are completed for inclusion of the project in the course syllabus. Faculty members who may be in doubt as to whether REB approval is necessary must contact the Research Ethics Officer or Chair of the REB.

External Researchers

External researchers must request a proportionate review of their study from the UNBC REB. Please submit a copy of your home institution's REB approval, together with a copy of the final approved application and supporting documents, complete with any revisions, by email to reb@unbc.ca. External research studies are assessed for local considerations, and a response will be sent back to the researcher, as outlined in TCPS2, Article 8.3. Once UNBC REB Approval has been obtained, the external researcher can proceed to engage with UNBC faculty, staff and students.

More on research and teaching involving human participants

Contact for Ethics Support

Office of Research and Innovation / Human Ethics Support: reb@unbc.ca

     For in-depth inquiries about the policies that may apply to ethics applications for your research:
          Isobel Hartley, Research Ethics Officer
          Phone: (250) 960-6735

     For general questions about ethics applications, certifications, or REB membership:
          Crystal Braun, REB Administrative Assistant
          Phone: (250) 960-5852

Hours of operation: Monday to Friday - 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

 

The UNBC Ethics Review of Research Involving Human Participants - Policy and Terms of Reference were developed with the support of the policies and terms of reference of Simon Fraser University, University of Victoria and University of British Columbia, and we thank them for their sharing of the helpful language we have used.