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DEPARTMENTAL REVIEWS

In many cases it may be appropriate to use an approved faculty or departmental review procedure for course projects that require students to conduct research involving human participants. Research that involves vulnerable populations, deceit, or that presents more than a minimal risk to the participants must undergo a full review.

Departmental Review Guidelines

These guidelines are intended to help you determine when a departmental review procedure is appropriate for student research activities.

When projects are part of course content and research skill development approved departmental procedures may be acceptable.

Examples of such projects are:

  • Conducting interviews, administering standard tests, circulating questionnaires, and facilitating focus groups
  • Actual research projects where students make observations, pose question(s), collect data, formulate conclusions and present findings (for the purpose of developing research skills)

Departmental review procedures are appropriate when:

  1. “Departmental Approval of Certain Student Projects
    A department or faculty with procedures approved by the VIU REB can use its own procedures to approve student research projects, provided these projects:
    • are part of a course in the department or faculty, and,
    • do not involve deception, and,
    • are of ‘minimal risk’ (TCPS, C1).

Student projects so approved have the same status as those approved by the Committee itself.” (VIU  Procedure 31.03.001, Section 6.1)

  1. Research is regarded as ‘minimal risk’. Minimal risk is defined as follows:

“if potential participants can reasonably be expected to regard the probability and magnitude of possible harms implied by participation in the research to be no greater than those encountered by the subject in those aspects of his or her everyday life that relate to the research then the research can be regarded as within the range of minimal risk.” (TCPS, 1998).

Departmental Review Procedures are not appropriate and research therefore requires review by the VIU REB when:

  1. Research does not meet minimal risk requirements.
  2. An undergraduate student is carrying out research that is part of a faculty member's own research program.

Currently Approved Departmental Ethics Review Procedures

Faculties or Departments with their own approved Departmental Ethics Review Procedures:

Developing Departmental Review Ethics Procedures

Overview of the process Involved

  • Consult checklist for Creating Departmental Ethics Review Procedures <link>

This checklist is intended to help you ensure your faculty or departmental ethics review procedures include the necessary components. It may be used as a basis from which to build your own procedures. It is not intended to be used on its own as an approved procedure.

  • Read relevant resources linked below
  • Consult already approved Departmental Ethics Review Procedures above
  • Create Procedures
  • Submit to VIU REB for approval

Once a Faculty or Departmental Ethics Review Procedure has been formulated and before it is used for student research proposal ethical reviews, it must be submitted to and approved by VIU’s Research Ethics Board.

  • Once approval is obtained student research may be reviewed using Departmental Ethics Review Procedures
  • Departmental Ethics Review Procedures must be renewed yearly.

Resources

The following resources should be considered when developing a Departmental Review Procedure:

Updated June 21, 2011