Under what condition can publicly available data be used without ongoing REB review?

• A. Publicly available data always require full REB review.
• B. Publicly available data are exempt from REB review if no identifiable individuals are present and risk is minimal.
• C. Publicly available data may be exempt from full REB review if no identifiable individuals and minimal risk; otherwise REB review is required.
• D. It may be exempt from full REB review if it involves no identifiable individuals and poses minimal risk; otherwise REB review is required.

Answer: (D)

The key idea is that researchers can use publicly available data without ongoing REB oversight when there is no way to identify individuals and the activity poses only minimal risk. In that scenario, the potential privacy harms are absent or negligible, so continuing board review isn’t needed.

The best choice captures this precisely: exemption applies when there are no identifiable individuals and the risk is minimal; otherwise, REB review is required. This aligns with the principle that the need for ongoing oversight depends on whether identifiability and risk are present. If the data are publicly available but could somehow reveal identities or if the risk is greater than minimal, full or ongoing REB review is appropriate.