Good day,
I am asking about whether or not I would need ethics board approval for a study that does not include human subjects. All data is publically available (non patient related data), and all previous similar studies have been exempted from board review which follow the same methodology. Is this exemption something that I formally need to apply for?
All similar studies have the same statement "the current study does not involve human subject participation and analysis was done using commercially available software and hence exempted from board review and approval"
Going by the description of the your @Rahma Menshawey it will not required ethics committee review and approval, please.
To my understanding, no approval is needed as long as the information used was anonymous (contained no individual identifying information) and the findings do not perpetuate stigma or discrimination to the researched community.
It may depend on the legal jurisdiction you are in. I have not kept up in Australia with any recent changes in this area but I was for a time a member of a university's 'Human Research Ethics Committee'. Those committees were set up under the aegis of the national body which awarded Federal Government research grants and were required for all universities that received such grants. All research proposals that involved human research had to go before the committee. In my opinion, even if historical data was used, and the data was anonymised, but the data came from human subjects, there could be circumstances under which such proposals could be required to undergo review.
For example, where historical data was acquired from human subjects who did not give informed consent, it could be problematic. The fact that such data was already public might not be enough to exempt a new study using it. Two wrongs do not make a right. Such compromised data might be relatable to race, gender or other analysis which itself could be problematic and cast a problematic light on current cultural/political issues. It may need to be considered on a case by case basis.
Seems like overkill, doesn't it?
Even if the legal requirement for approval does not apply , the bureaucratic nod of approval is not the same as your own, personal ethical decision.
Seek advice from someone closer to the current work of the Human Research Ethics committee in your institution.
You likely do not need a full IRB review, however, your institution/organization/publication may require that you do obtain a statement of IRB waiver for de-identified aggregate secondary data utilization. In my opinion it's probably best to verify - better safe than sorry.
Yes, the nature, the sea, the animals are other subjects that need an ethics board approval.
Even if the data are publicly available, you may need permission to use it for research. This depends on your jurisdiction, and on a lot of details. If the data is biomedical facts about human beings or behavioral facts, these may be classified as sensitive personal information that require specific informed consent to research, or awaiver from such requirement from an IRB.
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