NEARBC Research
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You are invited to participate in the NEARBC Research Ethics Survey that is being conducted by Dr. Chris Lalonde on behalf of NEARBC. Dr. Lalonde is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Victoria and a co-leader of the Network Environments for Aboriginal Research BC. You may contact him if you have further questions by telephone (250-721-7535) or e-mail (lalonde@uvic.ca). You may also contact Velten Pilger, NEARBC Node Coordinator by telephone (250-472-4689) or e-mail (vpilger@uvic.ca).
Purpose and Objectives
The purpose of this research project is to gather opinions from NEARBC members concerning the recently released “Draft 2nd Edition of the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans” This document contains a new section on ethical requirements for research involving Aboriginal peoples. You can download the full document (pdf file - 163 pages), or just the chapter on research with Aboriginal peoples (pdf file - 18 pages).
Importance of this Research
Research of this type is important because the Tri-Council Policy Statement will govern the conduct of all research funded by SSHRC, NSERC, and CIHR, and provides the framework for the operation of Human Research Ethics Boards at all universities in Canada. NEARBC is in a unique position to add to the discussion of this new document and to represent the views of our member researchers, community members, and policy makers. To help gather input from our members, we have created a brief on-line questionnaire.
Participant Selection
You are being asked to participate in this study because you are a member of NEARBC.
What is involved
If you agree to voluntarily participate in this research, your participation will include completing a brief on-line questionnaire. The questionnaire consists of 15 statements. You will be asked to indicate your level of agreement with each statement and to provide any comments you might have on each statement. You can view the questions before you decide to participate at: [add URL here]. The time needed to complete the questionnaire will be determined by the amount of time you wish to spend providing your comments. We anticipate that it should take 15-20 minutes.
Risks & Benefits
There are no known or anticipated risks to you by participating in this research. The potential benefits of your participation in this research include the opportunity to comment on this important policy document.
Compensation
As a way to express our appreciation for the participation of NEARBC members in this study, we are offering one framed, limited edition print of the NEARBC logo as a “door prize” to be awarded to one participant drawn at random. If you wish to be considered for this draw, you can enter your name and contact information at the end of the questionnaire. Your name will not be stored with your questionnaire responses, and all names and contact information will be destroyed after the prize is awarded.
Voluntary Participation
Your participation in this research must be completely voluntary. If you do decide to participate, you may withdraw at any time without any consequences or any explanation, by simply quitting your web browser before submitting your responses. Once responses are submitted, however, we will have no way of identifying your data from responses of other participants, and it will be logistically impossible to remove individual participant data.
Anonymity & Confidentiality
In terms of protecting your anonymity, we will not collect or record any identifying information with your responses. Your confidentiality and the confidentiality of the data will be protected. All information will be stored within password protected computer files. No information that could identify you will be contained within these files.
Dissemination of Results
It is anticipated that the results of this study will be shared with others through presentations at scholarly meetings, in reports made available through the NEARBC web site and in academic journals and other publications.
Disposal of Data
Data from this study will be retained in electronic form stored in password protected anonymized files on Dr. Lalonde’s computer at the University of Victoria. Summary data collected as part of this study may be compared with the results of future surveys of NEARBC members. For this reason, anonymized data files will be retained. No identifying data will be retained.
Contacts
In addition, you may verify the ethical approval of this study, or raise any concerns you might have, by contacting the Human Research Ethics Office at the University of Victoria (250-472-4545 or ethics@uvic.ca).
By completing and submitting the questionnaire, YOUR FREE AND INFORMED CONSENT IS IMPLIED and indicates that you understand the above conditions of participation in this study and that you have had the opportunity to have your questions answered by the researchers. Please retain a copy of this letter for your reference.