Dear Members of the Research Community,
In keeping with evolving university guidelines, we are once more updating our research protocols.
Effective May 12th, 2022, we have removed the requirement for V/ADR approval via the research portal for in-person human participant research. If your human participant research protocols will be changing at all, please make sure you submit any necessary amendments to your protocol and receive REB approval before you make any changes. If you have any questions about this, please contact the appropriate ethics board.
Use of the COVID LOI is still required. However, you will need to switch to a new version that has been updated based on changes to McMaster’s COVID requirements. There are updates to both the on-campus version and the fieldwork version. For studies cleared by MREB, the updated COVID LOI can be submitted via a For Information Only form, assuming no other changes to procedures that would require an Amendment.
For those of you conducting in-person human participant research, please refer to the Summary of McMaster University COVID-19 Requirements for In-Person On-Campus Human Participant Research and the Summary of McMaster University COVID-19 Requirements for In-Person Fieldwork Research with Human Participants. Also, please refer to the McMaster Research Ethics Board COVID FAQs or the HiREB website as these continue to be updated, and do not hesitate to reach out to me, your V/ADR or your ethics board staff if you have any additional questions.
If your research takes place at an affiliated site — host hospital or MIP – please adhere to site-specific protocols.
If you are engaged in fieldwork, please adhere to McMaster’s policies and all public health restrictions of the community in which you’re conducting your research. Please also be mindful of evolving travel restrictions and advisories.
Looking forward to seeing you on campus. Have a great summer!
Take care,
Karen Mossman, PhD Vice-President, Research