Ethics Committee Navigator
The Ethics Committee Navigator is a guided decision tree that determines which ethics committee your study must be submitted to and what that committee requires.
Navigation flow
Step 1: Regulatory jurisdiction
Step 2: Research area
Step 3+: Area-specific questions
Result: Committee assignment + submission guidance
Step 1 - Regulatory jurisdiction
| Option |
Meaning |
| FDA (United States) |
Research regulated by the U.S. FDA |
| EMA (European Union) |
Research under the EU/EMA framework |
| Other International |
Not FDA or EMA regulated |
Step 2 - Research area
| Option |
Routes into |
| Medicine and Health Sciences |
Health-study pathway |
| Science and Engineering |
Science pathway |
| Education and Social Sciences |
Social-sciences pathway |
| Arts |
Arts pathway |
| Survey Studies |
Survey pathway |
Step 3+ - Area-specific questions
Questions tailored to your area (study type, design, populations, data) that narrow down to the precise committee.
Navigation controls
| Control |
Behaviour |
| Select an option |
Advances to next question or shows result |
| Go back |
Steps back one question |
| Reset |
Clears path, returns to jurisdiction question |
| Back to Ethics Tools |
Returns to tool-selection screen |
The path you took (questions and answers) is displayed for transparency.
The result
Each result presents:
| Field |
Contents |
| Title |
Committee name or "No Ethics Committee Required" |
| Description |
Plain-language description of the outcome |
| Justification |
Reasoning for this assignment |
| Committee details |
Full name, mission, jurisdiction, timeframe |
| Requirements |
Required documents for submission |
| Recommendations |
Practical recommendations |
| Next steps |
Concrete next actions |
Jurisdiction-sensitive resolution
| Jurisdiction |
Committee variant |
| FDA |
IRB - FDA Regulated |
| EMA |
IEC - EMA/EU Regulated |
| Other |
Depends on research type |
Non-jurisdiction-dependent outcomes (IACUC, None) show the same committee regardless of jurisdiction.
The eight possible outcomes
| Committee |
When assigned |
| IRB (Institutional Review Board) |
Human-subjects research under FDA regulation |
| IEC (Independent Ethics Committee) |
Clinical trials under EU/EMA framework |
| IACUC (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee) |
Research using live vertebrate animals |
| REB (Research Ethics Board) |
Human-participants research under Canadian (TCPS 2) framework |
| Scientific Ethics Committee |
No direct patient contact (retrospective, archival, secondary data) |
| Educational Ethics Committee |
Educational interventions, pedagogy, assessment research |
| Environmental Ethics Committee |
Environmental/ecological research |
| None |
No committee required (systematic reviews, meta-analyses, public datasets) |
What the Navigator does and does not do
| Does |
Does not |
| Route you to the correct committee type |
Submit your application |
| List required documents and regulatory references |
Grant ethics approval |
| Explain the reasoning for the assignment |
Make legal determinations |
| Provide submission guidance and next steps |
Guarantee committee agreement |
The Navigator is a routing and planning aid. The committee itself makes the binding determination on your study.