Office of Research Ethics (ORE)

Brock University is committed to the responsible and ethical conduct of research.

The fundamental imperative of research involving human participants is encapsulated in three core principles: respect for persons, concern for welfare, and justice. To this end, Brock University endorses and adheres to the principles set out in the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans – TCPS 2 (2022) as approved and amended by 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 Office of Research Ethics (ORE) is responsible for the ethical oversight of research involving human participants and provides centralized administrative and educational functions related to research ethics review.

Brock University Research Ethics Boards (REBs)

Brock University has two REBs:

Health Sciences Research Ethics Board (HREB) which reviews all applications from the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, and
Social Science Research Ethics Board (SREB) which reviews applications from all other academic units.

A sub-committee specific to Indigenous research advises both boards on matters of cultural protocols, history, and tradition. If you are conducting research including or related to Indigenous Peoples of Canada please refer to TCPS 2 (2022) – Chapter 9: Research Involving the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples of Canada and contact the ORE at reb@brocku.ca for additional support.

All human participant research, whether funded or non-funded, conducted under the auspices and/or jurisdiction of Brock must undergo review and receive ethics clearance from one of Brock’s REBs prior to the start of the project. This applies regardless of the Brock members’ contribution or the location of the research site and includes research conducted by faculty, staff and/or students, as well as course-based research undertaken by students for pedagogical purposes and/or course credit.

If your research involves collaborative partnerships among researchers from multiple institutions, either within Canada or internationally, special considerations apply as outlined in TCPS2 (2022) Chapter 8: Multi-Jurisdictional Research. For information on multi-jurisdictional research requirements, contact the ORE at reb@brocku.ca.

APPLICATION AND REVIEW PROCESSES FOR HUMAN PARTICIPANT RESEARCH

At present, the REB and ORE are functioning at full capacity. Please be sure to check here for any posted changes to service (holidays, university closures, etc.) and plan your submissions accordingly.

REB Submission Notice: Please note that due to the holiday closure, REB submissions received after December 11, 2024, will be processed January 2, 2025. For further information, contact reb@brocku.ca.

Researchers can apply directly to the Office of Research Ethics by emailing submissions to reb@brocku.ca. Research Ethics applications must include an assessment of potential risks to participants, and where relevant, detail any risk-mitigation strategies to be implemented.

Turn-around time (from submission to first decision) for minimal risk projects is approximately 15-20 working days. Projects posing greater than minimal risk are reviewed at pre-scheduled, monthly meetings. In accordance with Canadian guidelines and Brock policy, the REB may require modifications to research or suspend research where participant or researcher welfare is at stake.

Research Ethics Boards (REBs)

About Brock’s Research Ethics Boards (REBs)

Brock’s Research Ethics Boards (REBs) are empowered to ensure that all research involving humans conducted under the auspices or within the jurisdiction of Brock University is ethical, and is conducted in accordance with this policy. As such, a REB may accept, reject, or propose modifications to any proposed or ongoing research that is subject to REB review, pursuant to Brock standards. A REB also has the authority to suspend any ongoing research under its purview that is deemed to pose an unacceptable risk of harm to participants or in which the principal researcher has not complied with Brock University policies and procedures related to the ethical conduct of research involving humans. A decision of a REB to disallow research on ethical grounds, unless reversed on reconsideration by that REB, may only be reversed through the REB appeal process. Decisions shall be final and binding in all respects for any appeal of an REB decision.

The Brock University Office of Research Ethics (ORE) provides centralized administration associated with the REBs and the research ethics operation at Brock, and develops and delivers educational programs and materials to Brock students, staff, and faculty involved in human research.

Brock University has two Research Ethics Boards:

The Health Science Research Ethics Board (HREB) is responsible for ethics review and policy development related to research from the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences including the following departments:

Health Sciences
Kinesiology
Nursing
Recreation & Leisure
Sport Management

The Social Science Research Ethics Board (SREB) is responsible for ethics review and policy development related to research involving human participants from all other Faculties:

Goodman School of Business
Faculty of Education
Faculty of Humanities
Faculty of Social Sciences
Faculty of Mathematics & Science
Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine & Performing Arts

Guidelines and application forms for human research

Below is a list of the major forms and templates that may need to be completed before proceeding with research involving humans. For further information or if you have questions, contact reb@brocku.ca or call 905-688-5550, x3035.

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