MacREM Reviewers/Admin

Frequently Asked Questions

MacREM System

What browsers does MacREM support?
MacREM supports the mainstream Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge browsers. It does not support Epic and the TOR browser has not been extensively tested. Best to use the mainstream browsers to be assured that you will never lose data.
I can't find the Submit Review button. Where is it?
If you have clicked the magnifying glass Review Application button and are reviewing and commenting on the application, to find the Submit Review button click the Timeline button. Alternatively you can use the top menu Work Area and go to your list of protocols. You will see the Submit Review button when you open the application again in the upper left navigation Action area.
Does MacREM only accept MacID to login?
Yes. If you don't have a MacID and you are a reviewer on a committee, please contact the Ethics Office who will apply for an MacID for you to use. ethicsoffice@mcmaster.ca ext. 23142
Download All as PDF Word Document Formatting Issues
The software behind the Download All as PDF render functionality removes Word markups. It would be a significant change on the part of the vendor to fix this. The advice is that this version cannot not be considered a master record in all cases. If the document attachments uploaded were all PDFs, the Download All as PDF would be correct. The Download All feature will download correct versions of documents. BTW, applicants can upload docx., doc, xls., xlsx., jpeg, png, pdf. They cannot upload rtf, csv, html, cfm, php files.

Training and Education

Where can I get more training on how to do a review?
The macremreview.mcmaster.ca website has a Reviewer User Training Manual to get you started. There is a Youtube playlist of short clips in development that will be linked to this page. You can also make an appointment to meet the Ethics Office Staff for help. The Ethics Office staff can also access your MacREM review remotely to give you instructions on what to do. Contact ethicsoffice@mcmaster.ca ext. 23142 or 26117 .
As a reviewer on a SREC, where can I get help to do a review?
If you are a reviewer on a student research ethics committee, make sure you have informed the Chair of your committee and / or the Ethics Office so they can assign a reviewer account for you on the committee. Once you have a reviewer account for your committee, you will receive an email with instructions about your role as a reviewer. Most SRECs have at least one meeting where they can meet each other and the ethics staff and learn how to do an ethics review on MacREM. The ethics staff have remote access to your reviewer account and can guide you through the review and submission of an application. You can always arrange to meet with the ethics staff for help. Please contact ethicsoffice@mcmaster.ca ext. 23142.
What advice do MREB Chairs have for doing reviews?
1) Write panel comments as if you are sending them to the researchers. Each of your comments will be read and reviewed by the Ethics Advisor (Lisungu) and a Chair. You will notice that some of your comments will get sent to researchers as written, sometimes they are lightly edited, sometimes they are consolidated with the other delegated reviewer’s comments, and sometimes they aren’t forwarded. 2) Comments to researchers are intended not only to raise questions but also to give specific guidance on how certain aspects of the project may need to be changed to be in compliance with TCPS 2. If you have specific suggestions on how some specific ethical concern should be addressed, please include that. Sometimes you may only have a general sense that something raises an ethical concern and this is helpful to note also. 3) If you are unsure about a question or concern you may have with a protocol you are reviewing, please feel free to note this (e.g., “Question to Chair: xyz…”) as this helps flag an issue for us. Relatedly if another reviewer has made a specific comment you agree with, you need not repeat it in detail but it is still helpful to know you have this same concern. 4) ‘Form Comments’ (as opposed to ‘Panel Comments’) can be used to make a global comment or insert an ethical concern that didn’t quite fit in any specific section of the application. 5) If you have a comment but it isn’t really an ethical concern, preface it with “Collegial Comment”. This helps the chairs know how you are thinking about it. I’ve had some questions about how researchers take up our collegial comments but have thus far found that many are appreciative of the advice. Any comments made about improving research design are usually prefaced as collegial unless the particular issue is also an ethical concern. 6) In the past we have been encouraged to categorize comments as major, minor or collegial. This is partly a holdover from the old form on the previous system. Chairs have found this to be helpful mainly because they get a sense if a reviewer finds a particular issue to be very important and requires addressing for ethics clearance. It’s probably sufficient to preface remarks with ‘Major’ and ‘Collegial Comments” under the assumption that the rest will be minor.