Child Health Research Office - Locally Generated Studies

The Research Proposal - Locally Generated Studies

In this section, we hope to provide you with some assistance for your submission of your locally generated study. Please note that these guidelines are for research involving subjects less than 18 years of age at any CHR site. If your project involves adults only, please contact the Office of Medical Bioethics at 220-7990.

How do I Submit?

Locally generated studies are reviewed by the Child Health Scientific Review Committee (CHSRC). All studies are reviewed on an ongoing basis so there are no submission deadlines for review by the CHSRC. You make your submission to the Child Health Research Office (CHRO). Your submission must include:

Original + 4 copies of the application form
Original + 4 copies of the study protocol
Original + 4 copies of the consent form (templates available on CHREB website)

Upon receipt of your submission, the CHRO distributes the protocols to the reviewers of the CHSRC for scientific and administrative review. In addition, the study will undergo an institutional impact review. Should your protocol require a review for compliance with the Health Information Act, the CHRO will also forward this to the Calgary Health Region Office of Information and Privacy once the protocol is approved for science. The CHRO will also forward the protocol for ethical review once science approval is established.

What Happens in the Review Process?

This proposal will be reviewed for institutional impact, scientific and ethical concerns. If applicable, the protocol will also be submitted to the Office of Information and Privacy, Legal Affairs of the CHR to assess compliance with the Health Information Act. (For more information, please see Health Information Act section on the CAH website.) It will be reviewed for institutional impact and scientific concerns concurrently. Once scientific approval has been given, you will be notified of the approval. The CHRO will promptly forward the study to Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board (CHREB) for ethical review.

The Scientific Review:

In general, the CHSRC reviewers look for the following criteria when judging your proposal on scientific validity and administrative impact:

Research questions and/or objectives that are clear and attainable.
Background information and literature review, which justify the conduct of the study.
A research design that is adequate for the objectives and (where applicable) the hypotheses to be tested.
Research methods that are appropriate for the study, including: subject selection (sampling, recruitment, inclusion and exclusion criteria, methods of assignment to groups), statistical consideration (sample size and data analysis), data collection (study variables, procedures, measures/instruments), and time frame of the study.
Itemised, detailed budget information including source of funding and overhead information.
Protection of human rights and attention to ethical issues (addressed by the CHREB).
Practical significance and feasibility of the study given the qualifications of the investigator.
Interventions proposed and patient safety.

For more information on elements of a research proposal, please see Dr. Bob Hilsden's "Beginner's Guide to the Research Proposal": the link can be found on the CAH website.

Administrative Review

All investigators must submit a list indicating departments or divisions where operations may be affected by the proposed study and obtain signatures of the appropriate Department Head(s) or Officer(s) indicating they have reviewed the project and its budget. This list is included in your application package on page 2. The study budget will be assessed for completeness and appropriate pricing. Administrative review will be conducted by the CHSRC.

Ethical Review

For all submissions, ethics approval is obtained from the Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board, University of Calgary . Proposals are forwarded directly to the Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board by the CHRO upon scientific approval. It is important to include a copy of the consent form with your submission to the CHRO.

Sample CHREB consent forms are available from the Office of Medical Bioethics or on their website . If there are ethics concerns, the investigator will be contacted by an ethics reviewer or Chair of the CHREB.

Approvals

Locally generated studies that are approved will receive 2 approval letters:

Institutional approval from the CHRO (issued before CHREB approval but is contingent on the study receiving CHREB approval)
Ethics approval from the CHREB

Both approvals must be obtained prior to commencement of your research.

If you have any questions, please contact the CHRO at 955-7241.