Protecting Human Participants in Research

Research with Humans 2 Contact Information Susanne Santi Senior Manager, Research Ethics 1027 Needles Hall extension

Research with Humans 3 Overview  Canadian Research Ethics Guidelines  Architecture Research Methods  Recruitment  Informed Consent  Data Collection, Storage and Retention  ORE Review and Application Processes  Responsibility of Researchers

Canadian Research Ethics Guidelines Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS) Research with Humans 4

5 Context of Ethics Framework  Need for Research: advance knowledge to benefit groups and society  Respect for Human Dignity: ethic should include (1) morally acceptable ends, (2) morally acceptable means to those ends  Subject-Centred Perspective: participants usually central to a study; not treated as objects  Guiding Ethical Principles

Research with Humans 6 TCPS – Guiding Principles  Respect for human dignity  Respect for free and informed consent  Respect for vulnerable persons  Respect for privacy and confidentiality  Respect for justice and inclusiveness  Balancing harms and benefits  Minimizing harm  Maximizing benefits

Research with Humans 7 TCPS – Article 1.1 All research that involves living human subjects requires review and approval by an REB (research ethics board) in accordance with this Policy Statement, before the research is started…

Architecture Research Methods Research involving human participants may involve  Observation  Photography  Interview  Focus group  Survey (questionnaire) Research with Humans 8

Architecture Research Methods Usually, these procedures  do not involve physical contact between researcher and participant  do not involve interference with behaviours  do not involve deception Risks due to procedures generally negligible, but may increase due to context, lack of confidentiality Research with Humans 9

Participant Observation  Public place – no informed consent  Not public place – informed consent Observing behaviour does not involve recording conversations or video recording. Research with Humans 10

Photographs  Publicly accessible space  People are not identifiable – no consent to use  People are identifiable – obtain consent to use photo in research publications Research with Humans 11

Research with Humans 12

Interview, Focus Group, Survey Fully Inform participants about the study, and obtain written consent Unless it is an anonymous survey Research with Humans 13

Interviews Key Informant  Professionals in design, planning, etc.  May be difficult to provide anonymity – key agents can be traced  Recognize expert opinion, contribution by identifying in publications, with permission; provide opportunity to review quotations  Obtain permission to audio record Research with Humans 14

Interview Users or Citizen Participants in Design  Anonymity should be provided  Participant characteristics – age, gender, ethnicity, etc. – should not lead to identification  Obtain permission to audio record Research with Humans 15

Focus Group  Anonymity of information reported  Researcher guarantees confidentiality; however cannot guarantee confidentiality by session participants  Audio or video recording is for analysis purposes; if wish to use for presentation or publication, obtain written consent from all session participants Research with Humans 16

Survey (Questionnaire)  Paper and pencil, web-based, in-person, telephone  Usually, questions with multiple-choice responses, statements with likert scales, ranking of items, and/or short, open-ended response questions  Fully inform; no written consent for anonymous survey Research with Humans 17

Recruitment in Organizations Obtain permission from organization’s gatekeeper to conduct study in organization or recruit participants discuss project with gatekeeper work out a recruitment method while protecting privacy of potential participants script/letter for gatekeeper permission Research with Humans 18

Research with Humans 19 Recruitment Who is recruited – justice and inclusiveness, credibility of findings Participation is voluntary; no coercion or exercise of power or authority For minors, recruitment begins with parents Variety of routes: telephone, , paper, poster, flyer; see samples on website

Informed Consent Process Informed consent process involves: Participant-centered approach Full disclosure in lay language i.e. told exactly what is going to happen Interactive- between researcher & participant Materials should be grammatically correct & easy to read: grade 8 level, sub-titles, Q&A format, white space Research with Humans 20

Research with Humans 21 Informed Consent: Information-Consent Letter Elements of an Information Consent Letter: ● Names, affiliation, and contact #s for Faculty Supervisor and Student Investigator ● Study purpose ● Lay language description of procedures: examples of the type of questions for interview or questionnaire ● Indicate participants may decline answering any question(s), if interview or questionnaire ● Describe all known or anticipated risks and benefits ● Details of time commitment required for participation

Research with Humans 22 Information-Consent Letter Elements of an Information Consent Letter, Cont’d: ●Free not to participate, or subsequently withdraw consent, without jeopardizing any entitlements ● Details about follow-up sessions or subsequent related project ● Procedures to ensure confidentiality of data and anonymity of participants -- limitations on confidentiality should be noted ● Financial or other remuneration for participation ● Length of retention and security of data

Research with Humans 23 Information-Consent Letter Elements of an Information Consent Letter, Cont’d: ●Opportunity to ask any related questions and receive answers to their satisfaction ● Statement: This study has been reviewed and received ethics clearance through the Office of Research Ethics. However, the final decision about participation is yours. If you have any comments or concerns please contact the office at (519) ext or by at

Research with Humans 24 Data Collection, Storage & Retention Privacy and confidentiality while collecting data Data are kept secure from theft, interception, copying or perusal Personal identifiers removed from questionnaires, tapes, other documents No names/identifiers released without written consent Access to data with identifiers only by researchers

Research with Humans 25 Risks vs. Benefits of Procedures Potential benefits of research must outweigh any potential risks Researcher must determine both known and potential risks of procedures Risks of procedures can be physical, psychological, legal, economic and social Risks of procedures assessed within context

Research with Humans 26 UW Ethics Review Process What Research Requires Ethics Review? All research* involving living human participants *Research involves a systematic investigation to establish facts, principles or generalizable knowledge

Research with Humans 27 UW Ethics Review Process Two Ethics Review Routes: ORE: Ethics review by Director or a Manager, Office of Research Ethics HREC: Ethics review by all members of Human Research Ethics Committee (or sub-committee)

Research with Humans 28 UW Ethics Review Process How is Ethics Review Route Determined? Most commonly, on the basis of identified level of risks to participants Applications that pose no more than minimal risk to participants are reviewed by Director or a Manager Applications that pose greater than minimal risk to participants are referred to the HREC

Research with Humans 29 UW Ethics Review Process What is Minimal Risk? ….Participation in research activities in which the potential risk of harm is no greater than that which participants already experience in their everyday lives.

Research with Humans 30 UW Ethics Review Process Primary Considerations: Study Details - Purpose, methodology, recruitment, participants Recruitment procedures Anonymity of participants and confidentiality of data Risks vs. benefits of procedures Informed consent process

Research with Humans 31 UW, Human Research Accountability Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans University of Waterloo Guidelines for Research with Human Participants Memorandum of Understanding between Federal Granting Agencies and Institutions

Research with Humans 32 ORE Application Process Form 101/101A

Research with Humans 33 Review Time ●15 working days for review, may be less ● Obtain Ethics Review Feedback via – cannot begin project until ethics clearance ● Respond to comments and make revisions ● Responses and revisions returned to ● Review Feedback s will be sent until all comments addressed, then ethics clearance ● Once ethics clearance can begin project

Research with Humans 34 Researcher’s Responsibilities Researchers expected to design and implement research consistent with TCPS and with UW’s Guidelines Researchers ensure all their research involving humans undergoes ethics review and receives ethics clearance prior to commencement of the project Researchers conduct research in accordance with their description in the application for which ethics clearance has been granted

Research with Humans 35 Researcher’s Responsibilities Researchers submit all subsequent modifications to the protocol for ethics review and clearance before changes are undertaken (ORE 104) Researchers responsible for submitting an annual Progress Report for all ongoing research projects (ORE 105) Researchers submit an adverse event form for any events related to the procedures used that adversely affect participants (ORE 106)