Submitting the Application

 All applications for ethical approval of research proposals (i.e., those requiring full board review and those qualifying for expedited review) are made by submitting ONE electronic copy of the completed application form and all attachments in PDF format.  Please submit signature pages either as scanned PDF pages of hand written signatures or a signature that has been created using digital signature technology. Typed text submitted in lieu of a signature will not be accepted. 

 Before submitting the completed application form please remember to remove the guidance notes, these are not required as part of your application.  The electronic copy of your application and all related files can be sent to [email protected] . 

Note:

 

• Clinical trials are required to submit ONE hard copy of the REB application with original signatures, all attachments, the study protocol and investigator's brochure.
  

 

 

 

All signatures requested must be obtained prior to submission to the Board. Applications with missing signatures will be returned to the investigator without review. Applications received at least ten working days prior to a scheduled meeting will be reviewed at that meeting. The application is recorded and forwarded to the Chair of the Board. Following review by the Committee, the Chair will communicate the decision regarding suitability to the applicant in writing. For REB meeting dates, click here.

Please note that beginning March 2011, principal investigators of chart audit studies must complete the McMaster Chart Audit Tutorial, available at http://ethics.mcmaster.ca/chart/, prior to submission to the Board. Principal investigators of chart audit studies prior to March 2011 are exempt from this requirement.

Similarly, principal investigators of studies involving contact with patients (e.g. patient interviews, patient surveys, focus groups, etc.) must complete the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS) tutorial, available at http://www.pre.ethics.gc.ca/eng/education/tutorial-didacticiel/, prior to submission to the Board. Principal investigators of studies involving contact with patients prior to March 2011 are exempt from this requirement.

The outcome of the first review of the application through either a Full Board or an Expedited Review will be one of the following four decisions:

• Approval: The Certificate of Approval will be issued for a term of one year.
• Conditional Approval: The REB endorses the study with some changes and authorizes the Chair to grant approval when the concerns addressed to the researchers in the Notice of Ethical Review (i.e. the provisos) have been satisfactorily addressed
• Deferral: Based on the documentation provided, the REB is unable to make a final decision. The decision is deferred for full board review at such time as the researchers submit the supplementary information or documentation as specified by the REB in the Notice of Ethical Review.
• Not Approved: The REB does not authorize the conduct of the research in the RQHR.

This decision will be forwarded to Administration for information and to the applicant with an outline of the requested changes, if any. Research projects must not be initiated until "Approval without changes" is granted.