Last time, I began to go through the Secondary Use of Data Research Ethics Board form (which is on ICE: Teams – Academic – Research Services, Innovation and Entrepreneurship – Research Ethics Board, then click on “Related Forms” on the left hand side; or click here). Remember that the secondary use of data form is only to be used when the data are already available either publicly (Statistics Canada) or privately (your previous semester students’ performance). This week, I’ll be reviewing the rest of the sections of the form, beginning with Section 4.0.
In the first sub-section (4.1), you’ll explain your research question, why it’s important and what you think the outcome will be (if you have a hypothesis). Then, you’ll explain where the data came from (who the participants were) and the purpose for the original (primary) data collection. For example, if you’d like to examine a previous semester’s student outcomes, the data were originally collected to provide feedback/grades to students and determine whether they earned credit for the course. If the data were collected for a previous research project, include that consent form as an attachment to this form. As a side note, whenever you are performing primary research, it’s a good idea to include a statement in your consent form asking participants to consent to their data being used in future research projects. That way, you don’t need to track them down to try to obtain consent. But please be sure that this future consent is separate from the consent to the present study. I recently wrote about how consent is not always necessary, and specifically about the TCPS2 wording that consent is not required for minimal risk research when “it is impossible or impracticable” (Article 5.5A) to obtain it. In most cases, secondary use research will fall in this category.
Now back to the form. The last question in Section 4.1 basically asks you whether the participants who provided the primary data would have an expectation of privacy and that it would not be used for other purposes. Only you can answer this question based on the data you are proposing to use, but for a SoTL project in which you are examining past semester performance of your own students, your students would not have the expectation of privacy from your having their data (i.e., they know you have access to their grades/assignments). In other situations, however, participants may have an expectation of privacy, which needs to be outlined to the REB in the application. Section 4.2 asks about the source/location of your data as well as how consent will be obtained if applicable (see my remarks in the previous paragraph).
Section 5 deals with the risk and benefits. Keep in mind that there will never be zero risk but that the risk will necessarily be minimal (otherwise, you couldn’t use this form!) so try to think about a worst-case/extreme scenario to try to understand where the risks exist, and then describe any ways in which that risk might be mitigated. In terms of benefits, it is unlikely that the participants will directly benefit from a secondary use study (unless you’re compensating them for their participation).
The final section (6.0) outlines your plans for data storage, specifically how participant anonymity. Some databases are already anonymized, so that makes answering this question easy. Alternatively, if you are downloading your own students’ data, don’t download their names/banner ID in the first place, and if you can, mix together multiple semesters so that it would be really difficult for you to conclusively identify one participant as a particular student. Finally, outline your plane for storage (where, how long, and who will have access). You may choose to keep the data on a thumb drive or in the cloud or on your DC-issued machine. Each of those options has its own risks for privacy and confidentiality (e.g., if your thumb drive isn’t password protected or if someone you share the cloud link with downloads a copy of the data to use offline). There is no perfect choice, but you’ll want to be clear on the risks and how you plan to mitigate them and maintain privacy and confidentiality. This section might also include information about student research assistants that are not yet hired will have access to the data (i.e., but you can’t include their name(s) in the application since you haven’t hired them yet). And that’s fine, as long as you ensure that they complete the TCPS2 once they are hired and let the REB know that there will be a student hired who will have access to the data.
Your signature (and those of the members of your team) are the final 2 pages of this short 8-page REB form for secondary use of data. Remember that a project of this sort is somewhat less involved because one of the riskiest parts of research (data collection) is removed from the equation. And so, if you’re looking to dip your toe into research, a SoTL project based on your own teaching (i.e., student performance from previous semesters), would be a great way to start your research journey!
If there is anything I can do to support your research or if you have suggestions for me in my role as Research Coordinator, please reach out via email or pop in to my “office hours” on Fridays from 12:30-1:30pm on Whereby.
Disclaimer: This information is accurate as of the date it was written. Always refer to current documentation on the REB website and the current version of the TCPS2.
