Research and Ethics Approval at Bloomberg Nursing

Research conducted by faculty members or students of the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing under the auspices of the University of Toronto must be reviewed and approved by a University of Toronto Research Ethics Board before it may begin. Information about ethics in human research at the University of Toronto can be found here.

Reason for Ethics Review by Research Office

The Associate Dean Research approval statement below makes clear that the Faculty is ultimately responsible for the ethical conduct of research by members of the Faculty:

“As the responsible Dean or authorized delegate, my Approval confirms that I am aware of the proposed research activity, that the activity is appropriately described in the protocol, that the activity (described in the protocol) has undergone or will undergo appropriate scholarly review, and that the unit will allocate space, other resources and administrative support to the research activity. My Approval also means that the unit will ensure that all procedures performed within the proposed research activity will be conducted in accordance with all relevant University, provincial and national policies, procedures and regulations”.

Process

Research at the University of Toronto

All ethics submissions are submitted through the University of Toronto’s My Research Human Protocol (MRHP) online submission system (https://easi.its.utoronto.ca/administrative-web-services/my-research-mr/). Each initial submission requires approval from the Associate Dean Research (ADR) or (in her absence) the Dean of the Faculty of Nursing before it is routed to the Office of Research Ethics for final approval. Researchers conducting research with Indigenous communities need to complete a human ethics review form.

University of Toronto provostial approval required for student, staff or faculty recruitment

University of Toronto Researchers who wish to conduct research with students, staff and faculty at the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing should consult the Office of the Vice President and Provost guidelines and procedures available at: https://www.provost.utoronto.ca/planning-policy/guideline-on-the-surveying-of-u-of-t-students-faculty-librarians-staff-and-alumni-by-u-of-t-researchers/.

Non-University of Toronto researchers who wish to conduct research with students, staff and faculty at the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing should consult the guidelines for external researchers, available at: https://www.provost.utoronto.ca/planning-policy/guideline-for-external-researchers-conducting-research-involving-members-of-the-u-of-t-community/.

Ethics Approval for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Research at University-Affiliated Hospitals

Faculty members conducting Scholarship of Teaching and Learning are advised to consult with the Associate Dean Academic about their proposed project.

All protocols must be approved by the Undergraduate or Graduate Director (as appropriate), and by the Associate Dean Academic. The signature page can be found here and should be included with the full ethics submission.

Researchers who intend to recruit patients from the Toronto Academic Health Science Network (TAHSN) institutions, or use their facilities or data, must submit their ethics submission to these institutions for approval prior to submission to the University of Toronto. Research approved by the research ethics board at TAHSN hospitals will require administrative review from the University of Toronto before commencement of any research. Researchers must submit their TAHSN approved protocol and REB letter to the MRHP system to obtain University of Toronto ethics approval. TAHSN/Administrative Review does not require approval from the Associate Dean, Research, and is exempt from the process described below.

Participant Recruitment

Faculty and employees of the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing will not email recruitment materials or study announcements to students, employees and faculty members.

Employees and faculty can be contacted individually via their publicly available email addresses; however, they are under no obligation to participate or respond. For more information on the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA), please see http://www.fippa.utoronto.ca/home.

Bloomberg Nursing Researchers

Bloomberg Nursing Researchers who plan to recruit students should obtain approval from the Associate Dean Academic, Undergraduate Director, MN Program Director or PhD Program Director as appropriate; signature page link here.

Include the signed signature page in your full application to the MRHP system.

Bloomberg Nursing Researchers may make study-related announcements or provide recruitment materials via the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing social media channels or faculty newsletter (e-Pulse) and may contact the Graduate Nursing Students Society and the Nursing Undergraduate Society. Researchers should forward requests (with appropriate REB and Provostial approval) to research.nursing@utoronto.ca.

Faculty researchers may share study information with students in-class and via Quercus if they have obtained REB and Provostial approval.

Non-Bloomberg Nursing University of Toronto Researchers

Submit University of Toronto REB approval letter and provostial approval (as required) to the Bloomberg Nursing research office (research.nursing@utoronto.ca) for access to the Bloomberg Nursing community.

University of Toronto Researchers may make study-related announcements or provide recruitment materials via the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing social media channels and may contact the Graduate Nursing Students Society and the Nursing Undergraduate Society.

Non-University of Toronto Researchers

If the University of Toronto is playing a role in the study beyond recruitment, such as data collection (which will require a faculty member be included as a co-investigator) or, if a University of Toronto researcher is already part of the research team, an ethics protocol must be submitted to the University of Toronto.

If the University of Toronto is not playing a role in the study, then submit institutional ethics approval letter and approval from the Office of the Vice President and Provost, following their guidelines, available here: https://www.provost.utoronto.ca/planning-policy/guideline-for-external-researchers-conducting-research-involving-members-of-the-u-of-t-community/.

Once provostial approval has been received from the University of Toronto, request approval from the Bloomberg Nursing research office (research.nursing@utoronto.ca) for access to the Bloomberg Nursing community. Your request must include copies of the Provostial and REB approvals.

Non-University of Toronto Researchers may contact the Graduate Nursing Students Society and the Nursing Undergraduate Society to recruit students.