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For further guidance please refer to the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS2).
Is your project exempt from review?
Research that does not require review
- Research that relies exclusively on publicly available information when the information is legally accessible to the public and appropriately protected by law; or the information is publicly accessible and there is no reasonable expectation of privacy.
- Research involving naturalistic observation in public places (where it does not involve any intervention staged by the researcher, or direct interaction with the individual or groups; individuals or groups targeted for observation have no reasonable expectation of privacy; and any dissemination of research results does not allow identification of specific individuals).
- Quality assurance and quality improvement studies, program evaluation activities, performance reviews, and testing within normal educational requirements if there is no research question involved (used exclusively for assessment, management or improvement purposes).
- Research based on review of published/publicly reported literature.
- Research exclusively involving secondary use of anonymous information or anonymous human biological materials, so long as the process of data linkage or recording or dissemination of results does not generate identifiable information.
- Research based solely on the researcher’s personal reflections and self-observation (e.g. auto-ethnography).
- Case reports.
- Creative practice activities (where an artist makes or interprets a work or works of art).