The Canadian Government’s Tri-Council Policy Statement on ‘Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans,’ (2014) includes the following fundamental principles of research ethics (see under Chapter 1, B ‘Core Principles’):
Key strategies for implementing these principles include:
Obtaining Informed Consent: providing participants with an accurate account of the nature of the participation, as well as foreseeable risks and benefits of participating in the research project, in a format that is easy for participants to access and understand. This ensures that participation in research is based on a voluntary (that is, not obtained under coercion, undue influence or duress), and fully informed decision by participants.
There are different forms in which informed consent may be obtained, including oral and written consent. Consent may have to be explicitly obtained for capturing different types of data. For example, in the GenUrb Project we are seeking consent from participants for audio recording, recording still images or photographs, as well as moving images, or video recordings.
Particularly in the case of projects that may be conducted over a longer period of time (for example, a number of years), consent may also need to be obtained on an ongoing basis. This includes keeping participants informed about any relevant changes or updates that may be relevant to their consent to participate in the research.
Where circumstances prevent written consent from being obtained from participants, alternative forms of consent may be sought, such as verbal consent, and researchers may be required to maintain records indicating that such consent has been sought. For example, in the GenUrb Project researchers are provided with a specific script to use when explaining and collecting verbal consent from participants.
Protecting Confidentiality and Privacy: The duty of confidentiality “includes obligations to protect information from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, modification, loss or theft. Fulfilling the ethical duty of confidentiality is essential to the trust relationship between researcher and participant, and to the integrity of the research project (Canadian Government, 2014).” At the same time the right to privacy ensures that “an individual has an opportunity to exercise control over personal information by consenting to, or withholding consent for, the collection, use and/or disclosure of information”.
Protecting the confidentialty of privacy of participants could include measures, such as:
• Why are ethics important in research?
• What ethical considerations may apply to your research context?
• What are the possibilities and challenges for obtaining informed consent and protecting confidentiality and privacy in your research context? What strategies can you can use to ensure that these basic ethical principles are observed?