Tri-council policy statement : Ethical conduct for research involving humans

Research involving humans ranges widely, including attempts to understand the broad sweep of history, the workings of the human body and the body politic, the nature of human interactions and the impact of nature on humans – the list is as boundless as the human imagination. [...] Other contributing factors to welfare are privacy and the control of information about the person, and the treatment of human biological materials according to the free, informed and ongoing consent of the person who was the source of the information or materials. [...] The Core Principles – Conclusion The importance of research and the need to ensure the ethical conduct of research requires both researchers and REB members to navigate a sometimes difficult course between the two main goals of providing the necessary protection of participants and serving the legitimate requirements of research. [...] In the context of both initial and continuing research ethics review, the REB assesses the ethical acceptability of a research project through consideration of the foreseeable risks, the potential benefits and the ethical implications of the project (see Article 2.9). [...] The Perspective of the Participant In designing and conducting research or reviewing the ethics of research, researchers and REBs must be mindful of the perspective of the participant.