The Brandon University Research Ethics Committee (BUREC) is a sub-committee of the Senate Research Committee (SRC) and adheres to the policies and guidelines below.  All research, class projects, undergraduate and graduate theses that involve human participants must receive approval from BUREC before any recruitment and data collection begins.

Policies

• Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS2-2022)
• Brandon University Policy on Research Involving Humans
• BUREC Procedures
• BUREC Non-Compliance Policy and Procedures

TCPS2: CORE-2022 (Course on Research Ethics) Requirement

The TCPS2 provides ethics guidance that applies to all research involving human participants, including their data and/or biological materials, conducted under the auspices of an institution eligible for funding by the federal Agencies (CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC).  The online tutorial CORE-2022 (Course on Research Ethics) is an introduction to the TCPS2 that focuses on the ethics guidance applicable to all research involving human participants, regardless of discipline or methodology.

A Principal Investigator must demonstrate completion of the most current TCPS CORE Tutorial by providing a copy of the Certificate of Completion as an appendix with each new application.  The TCPS2: CORE 2022 consists of nine (9) self-paced modules and a knowledge consolidation exercise.  The tutorial takes approximately four (4) hours.

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

• SOP: Data Security, Transporting Data, and Data Retention
• SOP: Endpoint for an Ethics Certificate and Reporting Requirements
• SOP: Seeking Consent from Minor Participants
• SOP: Registering Clinical Trials with Clinicaltrials.gov
• SOP: Reporting Unanticipated Issues and Events

Other Resources

• TCPS2 2022 Interpretations
• Informed Consent Guidance
• Confidentiality Agreement Template: Research Assistant (optional)
• Panel on Research Ethics – Guidance on Material Incidental Findings: Applying Article 3.4 of the TCPS2-2018
• Ethics Reviewer’s Checklist
• Panel on Research Ethics (PRE)
• Canadian Association of Research Ethics Boards (CAREB)
• First Nations Information Governance Centre
  • First Nations Principles of Ownership, Control, Access, and Possession (OCAP)
• Portage Network: Sensitive Data Expert Group
  • The Sensitive Data Toolkit helps researchers understand how research data is involved in the research ethics process, and addresses the evolution of research data management practices
    such as data sharing and deposit in the context of existing research ethics frameworks.  The toolkit includes:
  • Part 1: Glossary of Terms for Sensitive Data used for Research Purposes
  • Part 2: Human Participant Research Data Risk Matrix
  • Part 3: Research Data Management Language for Informed Consent
• Community-Based Research Canada: Practical Toolkits

Did You Know…

The “Did You Know” series offers guidance on the interpretation of specific Articles in the TCPS2-2022 and/or the BUREC Policies and Procedures, and calls attention to resource documents that can assist researchers when preparing their ethics applications.  Much of the information provided comes directly from the TCPS2 – Interpretations.

• Did You Know: Material Incidental Findings
• Did You Know: Course-based Research Activities
• Did You Know: Auto-ethnographic Research
• Did You Know:  Confidentiality Agreement Template – Research Assistant
• Did you Know: Clarification for Auto-ethnographic Course-based Activities