Research Ethics Board

Ethics Review ProcessSubmit a ProposalREB Meeting ScheduleAmendments & RenewalsClosing a Project  REB Membership List  

Keyano College is committed to ensuring the ethical conduct of research involving humans; as such, any research conducted at Keyano or undertaken by Keyano faculty, staff, or students involving human participants must be reviewed and approved by Keyano’s Research Ethics Board (REB).

Keyano’s REB is an independent group under the Vice President of Academic and Student Experience, who reviews and approves research being completed at the College. Keyano’s REB complies with the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS 2, 2022). The board consists of faculty members, librarians, students, and community members with research experience.

TCPS2: CORE Tutorial Requirement  
Effective immediately, all new REB applications must be accompanied by TCPS2: CORE-2022 certificates for all members of the research team.

Ethics Review Process

Submit a Research Proposal to the REB

To submit your research proposal for ethics approval, please complete the Keyano REB Application form. You must include all relevant documentation associated with your research design including, but not limited to:

• Research instruments (e.g., surveys, interview questions and guides, telephone scripts)
• Information letters, consent forms, and recruitment emails
• Research material (e.g., other REB approvals, letters of permission)
• Certificate of completion for the TCPS 2 from ALL researchers

Download Research Ethics Board Application Form

For questions related to the application process, consultation regarding ethical issues, REB decisions, and REB policies, please email the Research Ethics Board.

REB Meeting Schedule

The REB meets monthly throughout the academic year and applications must be submitted in advance of each meeting to be placed on the agenda with sufficient time for review. We do not meet in July or August.

Please Note: There is no guarantee that an application decision will be reached within the time frame of a single meeting. Although we will do our best, some applications require additional clarification. It is the researcher’s responsibility to submit their application well in advance of their proposed research start date to ensure they have the necessary buffer zone in place to await an REB review. 

Amendments and Renewals

Ethics approvals are issued for a maximum duration of 12 months for the protocol and corresponding documents as described in the application. Changes to any aspect of a study during the approval period require approval from the REB (e.g., protocol, methodology, recruitment, etc.). Changes/updates can be submitted using the REB Amendment  Application form.

Ethics approval must be maintained for the entire duration in which researchers are interacting with participants or their data. It is the responsibility of the principal investigator to renew their ethics approval annually using the REB Renewal Application form.

If a researcher does not complete renewal, the approval will expire.

Closing a Project

Principal investigators are responsible for notifying the Keyano REB when human ethics certification is no longer required for a project. To close an approved study, submit the REB Closing Report form.

When to close your study

You have collected all your human participant data in accordance with the study protocol and there will be no further contact between the researcher and participants. You must be done all member-checking, reporting back, and/or accessing participant records or original data sources.  

You do not need to maintain active ethics approval in case the data may be used by others in the future.

REB termination of research activities

The Keyano REB may terminate research approval if after 4 years no participants have been recruited. Dormant projects create unnecessary administrative work and may not keep up with changing scientific standards and research ethics standards. Termination decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis with the principal investigator.

REB Membership Application 

The REB ensures ethical conduct of research involving humans by reviewing and approving all research projects conducted at or affiliated with Keyano, including those initiated by faculty, staff, or students. Keyano’s Research Ethics Board (REB) applications from community members are now closed. 

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