Guidelines for course-based research

These guidelines describe the activities and situations that are covered under a course-based research ethics application. Course-based research ethics applications and approvals cover course instructors and their students when students practice and acquire research skills that fall under research involving human participants.

The instructor identifies and supervises the research skills and activities, which may include a range of skills, or focus on 1 or 2 skills, depending on the course level and discipline.

Note: the Research Ethics Board reserves the right to make determinations on a case-by-case basis.

Criteria

As the Principal Investigator (PI), the course instructor submits a Course-based Ethics Application. The Course-based Approval covers students’ research activities, including the data they collect, while enrolled in the course.

In the Course-based Ethics Application, the instructor must demonstrate how they will provide guidance and instruction to students to ensure that they adhere to the university’s policies and procedures for research.

• research policy RH8100
• research involving humans associated procedures for conducting human research RH8105

Instructors are eligible to complete a Course-based Research Ethics Application for students’ activities and assignments under the following conditions:

• instructors set parameters and instructions for students as to the research skills and conditions under which they will undertake activities within the course syllabus or outline
• instructors supervise and teach students on conducting 1 or more integrated research activities
  • e.g., students practice recruiting participants, collecting data, interpreting data, compiling the data in various formats, explaining and writing about findings and conclusions in an academic manner
• although questionnaire, interview questions and observation content do not need to be fully defined, the application should include draft and suggested instructor content/questions to support the ethical review
• the research activities may be carried out by individual students, small groups or as a single, coordinated mini-class project
  • regardless of format, the instructor will supervise all activities
• instructors may provide a choice of activities in the course syllabus for students to engage in a research activity to fulfill a class assignment

Note: to access the UVic-RAIS online system as a PI, permission may need to be set up for sessional instructors, post-docs and graduate students by the Human Research Ethics Office. Email us or call 250-472-4321.

Renewal and amendments

• Course-based ethics approvals are granted for 1 year and must be renewed if there are no changes in the next course offering
  • if the course is taught every other year, or different instructors teach the course, the approval should be renewed so that it is maintained
  • once closed, approved protocols cannot be re-opened; a new application is required
• if there is a change to the course activities or to the instructor, submit an amendment form with the Notification of Change of PI through the UVic-RAIS system with the new instructor’s name and contact information
  • for more information on how to change the PI, see Guidance and Tools/Accessing RAIS on the RAIS support site
• if there are substantive changes to the approved course-based activities, email the Ethics Office or call 250-472-4545 as soon as possible, as a new application may be required

Data collected by students

In most course-based research, data destruction is the default because:

• the use of the data is restricted to fulfilling the course requirement
• destruction ensures that instructors teach students how to properly destroy paper and electronic data to avoid breaches

Instructors must ensure that data collected by students is destroyed by the students when the course concludes (e.g., when the instructor has received and graded the assignment).

Note: only in very specific and limited circumstances is data destruction waived in a Course-based Research Ethics Application or under a Course-based Approval. These are:

• when the course instructor partners with an Indigenous community and, in keeping with engaged research practices with Indigenous participants and communities, the community requests the data for their use and/or archiving purposes
  • e.g., audio tapes of Indigenous language speakers, stories, photos, etc.
• when the course instructor partners with community-based organization(s) and not-for-profits before the course starts and the specific organization asks that the data be provided to them
  • the instructor will have arranged this before the course starts
  • see the Community-engaged learning section for more information
• similar to above, when the course has a client (a person in an organization, government office, etc. for whom a report will be prepared) and the client may use the data
  • the instructor will have arranged this before the course starts

Note: if there are other reasons for waiving the destruction of data before the course concludes, see the Exclusions section. Other intended uses of the data normally require the submission of a Standard Research Ethics Application and are not covered under a Course-based Application or Course-based Approval.

1.1 Research activities under human ethics review

1.2 Minimal Risk Research

While the HREB anticipates a variety of knowledge and skills between undergraduate and graduate students and between different disciplines and courses, instructors must demonstrate in the Course-based Ethics Application that the characteristics and contexts of students’ research activities will reflect minimal risk* research activities.

The Research Ethics Board assesses minimal risk for Course-based Ethics Applications in the following key areas:

Participants involved in student research activities

• are competent adults, youth or children
• live freely in the community (i.e., not hospitalized, do not reside in prison)
• are not considered vulnerable
  • where a vulnerability is identified, it is not the focus of the research and complex risk mitigation plans are not required

Characteristics of research activities

• activities must be non-invasive, such as the use of observations, questionnaires, focus groups or interviews
  • invasive activities, requiring a standard application, include the student collecting blood samples, human tissues, etc.
  • this depends on the pedagogical aims of the course (e.g., the course teaches biology students how to collect and analyze blood spots for certain proteins)
• activities do not involve the use of deception 
  • deception involves the use of limited or partial disclosure about the purpose of the study or its hypothesis during the consent process where full disclosure would render the proposed research impossible to carry out

Topics & risk to participants & potential risks to students conducting research activities

• activities conducted with the participants (e.g., the kinds of questions they are posed in an interview) present little or no risk to them
• the student conducting the activities are not themselves exposed to risks
• the topic areas that students propose to the instructor fall within the instructor’s realm of expertise, so the instructor has the background to provide training and support to the student(s)
• research risks do not outweigh benefits

1.3 Students in the course are research participants for each other

A Course-based Application is required when students collect data from other students enrolled together in the same course. For example, students interview each other and analyze data collected from each other.

1.4 Students are using secondary data and biological materials

• in the Course-based Ethics Application submission, instructors must clarify whether the secondary data or biological materials contain identifiers
  • If yes, explain why
• attach the institutional data access request and approval from the data custodian (e.g., Ministry of Health)
• if the data custodian is another faculty member at UVic or another university, attach an email from the faculty member allowing access/use and the ethics approval certificate as applicable
• ensure that any conditions on data use, as required by the data custodian, are clarified in the application and attach appropriate documentation

*the probability and magnitude of possible harms implied by participation in the research is no greater than those encountered by participants in those aspects of their everyday life that relate to the research. (TCPS2 Chapter 2.B)

Exclusions

When Course-Based Ethics Applications are not accepted and when data collected under a course-based approval may not be used, you must submit a standard research ethics application. These scenarios include:

Purpose for and uses of data

• graduate and undergraduate honours projects, capstone projects, theses, dissertations
  • see TCPS2 Article 6.12 for more information
• to fulfill the requirements of a directed studies course
  • as directed studies courses are co-constructed by the student and instructor, they differ from regular courses and may involve the student conducting higher-risk research
• using the data for a current or future academic program, degree or project that's already started (or contemplated) at UVic or another post-secondary institution, or for a publication

Note: data collected under a course-based approval may not be used to fulfill the same student’s future candidacy paper, major paper, project, etc. program requirements.

Risk levels associated with student activities

• research activities designed by the instructor where the participant population may be considered vulnerable and the risks to participants are not negligible
• a student(s) intending to engage in a research activity which, by its nature and character, is determined by the HREB to be higher risk research

Instructors’ own research project and/or program of research

• the instructor is researching their own students in a course or lab they teach (e.g., students are providing data as research participants)
• course-based research activities in which research assignments are part of a larger-scale project, such as their instructor’s (or another faculty member’s) own research program/project
• the instructor provides research skills development to their students and the students collect data for the instructor’s own research program or project (e.g., the students are de facto research assistants for the instructor’s own research)

Other situations

• as part of a course assignment, when instructors require students to design and conduct their own series of research activities 
• a fully executed project from start to finish that would be considered by the REB as research project equivalent to an undergrad honours project

Exemptions

Course-based research activities

Program courses that provide professional training activities for students where the training involves collecting information from and about people are usually exempt from human ethics review. This applies when the courses are mandatory to complete a professional degree in the following types of courses/programs:

• clinical training courses: psychology clinical counselling, School of Nursing, Island Medical Program and practicum placements
• legal training courses where students must interact with a client to provide legal advice
• teacher certification and student teaching courses and practicum placements
• social work practical courses and practicum placements
• child and youth care courses and practicum placements

Professional training activities

• using information collected from an individual for the sole purpose of providing clinical or legal advice, diagnosis, identification of appropriate interventions or advice/counsel for a client or patient
• a student trainee developing skills which are considered standard practice within a profession (e.g., assessment, intervention, evaluation, auditing)
• information collected from an individual reflects the professional interaction between the student trainee and an individual who they would be interacting with as part of their professional training

Note: if a student trainee has asked the instructor to use information collected from an individual from their clinical, legal, or practicum interaction to fulfill a program requirement (e.g., undergraduate honours project, graduate capstone project, graduate project, thesis, dissertation), a standard research ethics application must be submitted to cover these situations. Please contact the Research Ethics Office as soon as possible, since practicum placements may be short.

Instructor’s responsibilities

The instructor takes on the role of PI and submits a single completed application for ethical review of course-based research activities involving human participants to cover all their students’ research activities/assignments in the course.

The instructor must submit the application via UVic-RAIS System and the departmental chair or director signs off, affirming that adequate research infrastructure is available for the conduct and completion of the course-based research project.

Involvement of and permission from external entities in research

In some courses, instructors plan for students to conduct their research activity or activities at an external host organization or in collaboration with external entities. Instructors are strongly advised to contact the organization(s) as early as possible before the start of the course and before preparing the course-based ethics application to learn other entities’ expectations and whether they need informal or formal permission.

These entities include:

• school districts/public schools
• private schools and colleges
• Indigenous communities and/or Indigenous organizations
• BC Health Authorities & BC “ethics partner” universities UBC, SFU, UNBC: please email the Research Ethics Office for special instructions or call 250-472-4321

Community-engaged learning

Instructors who approach their courses and pedagogical practices from a community-engaged learning perspective create an array of learning activities and opportunities for their students.

These learning opportunities involve a community organization(s) or host organization(s). They plan key aspects of the course-based research activities, goals and outcomes together with the instructor.

Common challenges

Once a community-engaged course starts, it can be challenging for the instructor (and students) to anticipate whether some student activities fall under research involving human participants. Given the potential for uncertainty and transitions during the course, instructors are strongly encouraged to be proactive.

Examples include:

• instructor or student(s) uncertainty of whether the students’ activity is getting close to or “crossed the line” into research involving human participants
• the nature of the student activity changes at or with the partner organization and/or the student during the course
• impromptu research is proposed by the student and/or the partner organization(s)

Completing a course-based ethics application

As the PI, the instructor will:

1. Upload a complete course outline or syllabus that includes teaching of research ethics as well as the research activities/assignments related and involving human participation specific to the course-based application.
2. Prepare students to undertake the research assignment(s) for this course, in compliance with the ethical standards set out in the UVic’s ethical guidelines and policies and the Tri-Council Policy Statement (TCPS2).
3. Provide a completed participant consent form template for students to use specific to the course-based research activities developed by the instructor in the course-based application and outline.
   • Upload this template with the application.
4. Describe more than 1 possible research activity/option in the course outline and on the course-based application, and ensure that the options are clearly indicated on the informed consent form template.
   • e.g., separate consent forms or single consent outlining the options where appropriate.

Students will be instructed to:

• explain the nature and purpose of the research project to their participants
• demonstrate an understanding of recommended recruitment strategies, such as:
  • by letter
  • through an organization
  • presentation to a group
• demonstrate an understanding of the necessary safeguards required to ensure that no coercion is used if there is the potential of a relationship (relative, friend, co-worker) as is common between students and participants in course-based research
• obtain and document free and informed consent from participants
• explain the voluntary nature of participation and participants' right to withdraw at any time without consequences
• assess any potential risks and/or benefits related to the study and explain them to participants (NB. research assignments must be minimal risk)
• describe compensation offered to participants (if applicable)
• address anonymity with their participants
  • i.e., protection of the identity of participants along a continuum (from complete to no protection) as appropriate and as agreed to by participants
• address confidentiality issues with participants, including:
  • limits to confidentiality due to selection
  • nature of group activities
  • maintenance and disposal of data including secure storage of, and controlled access to, raw data and personal information
  • course-based research activity data, to be destroyed at course completion
• explain how the results will be reported and where
• explain any other procedures relevant to complying with UVic’s ethical guidelines and policies