Bishop’s University

Research with Human Participants

Home » Research » Research Ethics » Research with Human Participants

Research involving “Human Participants” requires ethics approval before the research is started.

The Tri-Council Policy Statement defines research as “an undertaking intended to extend knowledge through a disciplined inquiry or systematic investigation (p. 7).” The Research Ethics Board (REB) and the Ethics Review Committee for Student Research (ERCSR) are responsible for the review and approval of research protocols involving human participants and ensures that the highest ethical standards in the conduct of research by Bishop’s University researchers are upheld and in compliance with the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS 2) and the Bishop’s University Research Ethics Policy.

B.U. Standard Documents

These are Bishop’s Standard Documents available in both French and English to be submitted with your project on Romeo.

2025 REB Consent Form Changes (PDF)

REB Consent Forms

REB English Consent Forms:

REB French Consent Forms:

Recruitment Guidelines Offers a standard of the elements that should be found in recruitment material used to recruit participants.

ERCSR Consent Forms

ERCSR English Consent Forms:

ERCSR French Consent Forms:

Recruitment Guidelines Offers a standard of the elements that should be found in recruitment material used to recruit participants.

Non-Disclosure Agreement

All research personnel, paid or unpaid, must sign the Non-Disclosure Agreement prior to beginning their work on a research project involving human participants.

Signature page for students submitting protocols in Romeo

Students who submit a protocol to the Research Ethics Board must upload this signature page, signed and dated by their supervisor(s).

Supervisors: Please also note that the supervisor assumes responsibility for the scholarly review of their student’s submission.

Committee to Submit

There are two committees: REB and ERCSR. See the tables below to know to which committee you should be submitting your project for review.

For Undergraduate Students:

  • Project with minimal risk:
    • Submit your project to ERCSR
  • Project with more than Minimal Risk or Involving Minors, or Vulnerable Population and /or substances given to participants:
    • Submit your project to REB

For Graduate Students:

  • Project: All Risk:
    • Submit your project to REB

For Class Instructor:

  • Project with data not kept for publication:
    • Submit your project to ERCSR
  • Project with data kept for publication and/or involving minors (under 18**) or vulnerable populations and/or substances administered to the participants:
    • Submit your project to REB

For Faculty:

  • Project: All Risk:
    • Submit your project to REB

*Graduate Students REGISTERED at another university but supervised or co-supervised by a faculty at Bishop’s should submit a REB protocol to their primary institution.

** In Quebec only, a minor of 14 years of age or older may give consent alone to minimal risk research. If your participants fit this scenario, you will submit to the ERCSR.

FACULTY RESEARCHERS: Must submit ANNUAL or FINAL REPORTS to the REB in regards to their completed or continuing projects. Extension request forms must be submitted when a research project extends over the approved protocol’s original end date. These forms, known as Event Form can be accessed by clicking on the relevant protocol under the Applications: Post-Review section of the B.U. Research Portal.

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHERS: Must submit FINAL REPORTS to the ERCSR in regards to their completed projects. Final Report forms are available in the B.U. Research Portal under the EVENTS tab associated with an approved ethics protocol.

Coursed-Based Research

Professor and Student Responsibility (PDF)

Guidelines on Course-based Research Involving Human Participants and Students as Researchers (PDF)

Coursed-Based Signature Page Agreement (PDF)

Ethic Committee Members

REB Committee Members:

  • Cristian Berco (Chairperson)
  • Claude Charron
  • Claude Charpentier (sabbatical until 2025)
  • Sunny Man Chu Lau
  • Letta Wellinger
  • Svetlana Davis
  • Marko Biberdzic

ERCSR Committee Members:

  • Courtney Plante (Chairperson)
  • Jacob Robbins-Kanter
  • Jonathan Carriere
  • Danilo Fernandes da Silva

External Researchers wanting to recruit participants at Bishop’s University

The researcher must submit certificate of approval and all other documents such as questionnaires, approved by their ethic committee and email them to the Office of Research and Graduate Studies (researchoffice@ubishops.ca) for approval by our REB committee.

FACULTY: Release Funds

This form allows researchers to apply for the early release of funds to enable the initial phases of their work not involving human participants. It can be accessed by clicking on the relevant grant application to which the ethics protocol is linked, under the Applications: Post-Review section of the BU Research Portal.

How to Submit a Project

Contact the Office of Research and Graduate Studies at researchoffice@ubishops.ca to obtain access to the ROMEO PORTAL.

Monthly Deadlines for Project Submission

REB Committee Deadlines for Project Submission:

  • Monthly Deadline: 1st of the month (September – June), or the following business day if the 1st of the month falls on a weekend or holiday.
  • Review: The REB meet on the second Friday of each month.

ERCSR Committee Deadlines for Project Submission:

  • Monthly Deadline: 15th of the month (September – June), or the following business day if the 15th of the month falls on a weekend or holiday.
  • Review: The ERCSR meet on the last Friday of each month.

Summer Months (July-August): Minimal risk protocols submitted to the REB will be given delegated review. Protocols submitted to the ERCSR will be reviewed by the REB.

Multi-Institutional Projects

Projects led by a Quebec University

Under an agreement between Quebec universities, the review and approval of research protocols involving no more than minimal risk shall be undertaken by the Research Ethics Board of the university under whose auspices the Principal Investigator carries out research. Where research protocols are approved by the Research Ethics Board of another Quebec university under the agreement, Bishop’s University shall recognize the certificate of approval unless Bishop’s Research Ethics Board determines that the research entails more than minimal risk as specified by the TCPS2. Once the certificate of approval from the other Quebec university is obtained, the Bishop’s co-investigator should submit the“Declaration of Multi-Institutional Research” in the BU Research Portal. The Bishop’s REB will then review the form to confirm that the project involves no more than minimal risk and validate the ethics certificate issued by the lead institution. A letter confirming Bishop’s REB approval will be sent to the Bishop’s co-investigator.

Projects led by a Quebec affiliated University Centre (CAU), University Hospital (CHU), or University Institute (IU), or a university located outside of Quebec.

Principal Investigator/Co-PI: the researcher should submit the “Research Involving Human Participants Form” in the BU Research Portal.

Co-Investigator: the project involves no more than minimal risk, the researcher should submit the certificate of approval from the principal investigator’s REB using the “Declaration of Multi-Institutional Research” in the BU Research Portal.

Recruitment of Participants

Please contact the Office of Research and Graduate Studies at researchoffice@ubishops.ca.

Research Internship Outside of Bishop’s University

Bishop’s students have the opportunity to do internships at other universities within the core of their studies. When a project involves human participants, students must ensure that the supervisor at the host university has received all the necessary certificates to undergo their research project. Prior to undertaking their work outside Bishop’s, students must submit a Research Internship Outside Bishop’s Form in the BU Research Portal. A copy of the host institution’s ethics certificate must be provided. If the project involves human participants and cannot receive ethics approval from the host institution, students must submit a research protocol to the Ethics Review Committee for Student Research, via the Research Portal, before the works begins.

ROMEO Portal: Video Tutorials

When are Ethics Reviews NOT Required?

Check this PDF for the situations in which you do not need ethics board approval:

When an Ethics Review is Not Required – Human (PDF)

For further information, please contact the Office of Research and Graduate Studies: researchoffice@ubishops.ca.