When do Undergraduate Projects Need REB Review?

While the TCPS presumes that Masters or Doctoral thesis projects qualify as research, there is no such presumption for undergraduate projects, such as Arts and Social Science or other Honours theses or Capstone projects and it is often uncertain whether such a project requires REB Review. 

In such cases, seeks to determine whether there appears to be a primary research intent, that is an intention to create new knowledge.  Does the project appear to have a primary intention to train or teach research methods and skills, or is there a genuine intent to generate new information, of potential significance to the relevant scientific or scholarly community?   In addition, does the project meet relevant scholarly or scientific methodological standards, such that the project “…is conducted with the expectation that the method, results, and conclusions will be able to withstand the scrutiny of the relevant research community.” Relevant questions would be: Is the data collection systematic?  Are the sample size and other elements of the methodology rigourous enough to potentially yield broadly useful findings?  Would the elements of the study satisfy a reasonable body of scientists or scholars in the field as to the project’s credibility and validity?