Any research or
study conducted at the Toronto Central Community Care Access Centre (CCAC),
including those with affiliated partners (e.g. hospitals, service providers,
universities) or undertaken by persons connected to the Toronto Central CCAC,
involving human subjects must be reviewed and approved by the appropriate
Research Ethics Board (REB) and the Toronto Central CCAC Research Advisory
Committee. In some cases, a research project may need to be reviewed by more
than one Board or Committee. If you think this applies to your research, please
contact the Research Specialist who coordinates research activities and handles
the administration of all research ethics for the organization.
Staff and
graduate students of the Toronto Central CCAC can increase their knowledge and
understanding of research ethics by reading the Tri-Council Policy Statement for
the Ethical Conduct for Research involving Humans (TCPS). This policy is
available at:
http://www.pre.ethics.gc.ca/english/policystatement/policystatement.cfm
Staff and graduate students can also enhance their understanding and
appreciation of research and the ethical principles and ethical conduct that
guides research, by taking the Tri-Council Policy Statement (TCPS) tutorial. The
TCPS tutorial is free and can be completed in about two hours. The tutorial is
available at:
http://www.pre.ethics.gc.ca/english/tutorial/
Participation
in Research
Participation of staff and service providers in research
is very important to the vision and work of the Toronto Central CCAC.
Researchers rely on the participation of staff, service providers, service
users, caregivers, and other community members to make research possible. This
means that researchers sometimes need to recruit participants and interview them
about their experiences, opinions and ideas that are pertinent to the research
topic.
Participating in research projects at the Toronto Central CCAC is
completely voluntary and participants can withdraw their participation at
anytime. The researcher must explain the following issues to ALL participants:
- the purpose of the research
- what the interview is about
- how long the interview will last
- whether the interview is confidential and how the participant’s
confidentiality will be protected
- potential risks and benefits
Participants have a right to ask
questions about the research or about other issues related to the research, such
as the source of funding, risks involved and how service users or community
members may benefit from the research.
Participants agree to be part of a
research project by signing a consent form. This form should include a summary
of the purpose of the research project, how the researchers will protect
participant's confidentiality, the types of questions that the researcher will
ask, whether participants will receive compensation (e.g. money or gifts) for
their interview, and other relevant information.
