Guidelines, Policies & Forms

When is Ethics Review Required?

Any research involving data collection from human participants, involving Indigenous Peoples—such as field observations, interviews, surveys, focus groups, or secondary data analysis from researchers or institutions—must undergo a research ethics review before any research activities commence.

All research involving human participants is considered research subject to review. The Principal Investigator (researcher) of any research project involving human participants:

• MUST have a protocol that describes how the researcher(s) will interact with the human participants; and
• MUST have that protocol reviewed and approved by the appropriate Research Ethics Committee before the research commences; and
• MUST obtain informed consent from ALL research participants. For minor age participants (Those under the age of 16 for minimal risk research), both parental consent and participant assent are required.
• If the research requires travel to engage in fieldwork, a risk assessment is needed. The Graduate Student Risk Assessment Guidelines of the Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS) serve to assist graduate students in identifying appropriate health and safety considerations and preventative efforts before departing for field work activities.
• All graduate student researchers must complete the CORE-22 TCPS Tutorial Certificate to establish that they have completed the necessary education component and attach their certificate of completion to their protocols. Protocols will not be accepted for review unless a valid TCPS tutorial certificate is attached.

Graduate MRPs

• Review the Critical Disability Studies MRP Guidelines and forms
• MA students visit Resources and Forms to review student researcher responsibilities, access the MRP Protocol form, guidelines and Consent form templates
• Once the MRP Committee approves the student’s research, MA students must submit a complete MRP Proposal to the Graduate Program Office for review. This submission should include the HLTH MRP Proposal Submission form, the original proposal, a signed MRP Protocol form, and any required ethics documentation, along with a CORE-22 certificate. If applicable, a completed Graduate Student Risk Assessment form should also be included.

Graduate Dissertations

• PhD students refer to the Critical Disability Studies PhD Dissertation guidelines
• Once the PhD dissertation committee approves the student's research, PhD students review the Graduate Theses, Dissertations and Pilot Projects section from the Resources and Forms page to access Consent form templates, learning resources on the YU Ethics portal website and gain access to the YU Ethics system
• Upload their final dissertation proposal in the FGS Graduate Proposal Milestone portal
• Based on the research category, upload the ethics application and affiliated documents separately in the YU Ethics Review system.

Faculty Members

• Access the York Research & Innovation website for guidance on your research

All research proposals undergo a review process that may require revisions or modifications by the Office of Research Ethics. Any additional amendments must be addressed to continue the review, during which the proposal remains under consideration until a decision is made, and an approval certificate is issued.