The Office of Human Research Ethics (OHRE) has created a guidance document to help faculty determine what you need to do if an assignment for your class, or another piece of student work (like a thesis or dissertation), will involve research with human subjects (eg. interviewing, workshops etc).

Western offers many university courses that include class projects and activities designed to help students develop research skills. These projects may be carried out by individual students, small groups or as single class projects. The OHRE has developed a guidance document that provides an overview of these student activities and associated procedures for ethical oversight when these activities involve human participants (including data and/or biological materials).

The OHRE is in the process of developing an application form for course-based pedagogical projects (see attached guidance document, projects considered to be under Category 2) ,which will be available by January 2020.

As a result, beginning January 2020, all pedagogical project considered to fall within Category 2, as per the guidance document, will be required to submit a pedagogical application form to the OHRE. All projects considered research are still subject to standard REB oversight and will require a standard REB application form. This will continue as usual, as this process is already in place.

If you have any questions, please contact the OHRE at ethics@uwo.ca or 519-661-3036.

Ethics Guidance Document – Student Research and Pedagogical Activities

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