Research Ethics and Procedures
Lakeland College recognizes that college employees and students will engage in research activities.
To be in compliance with legislative and funding agency regulations, the college has established standards and procedures that ensure the integrity and accountability of any research conducted at Lakeland College.
What is research?
Research is any type of inquiry involving staff or students. Including:
- whether they are acting as researchers or participants in the research process
- whether the research is conducted in person or by some other means (mail, telephone, or computer link),
- when it involves the review of records not normally available to the public.
Why are research ethics important?
Before we undertake any research, we get an ethical clearance. This ensures we handle the research, the research subject(s), and resulting data with the highest quality standards.
We use third party approval of our research protocols to ensure our research methods are thorough and limit liability. At Lakeland, we use Red Deer College's research ethical standards.
Red Deer College Human Research Ethics Forms
Lakeland has a an agreement with Red Deer College to use its research ethics board. Find the forms you need to start a research project on the RDC research ethics board webpages.
| What research requires ethics approval? |
Research involving the following subjects or materials must comply with Lakeland College’s Procedures. This includes research involving:
Research activities that require environmental assessments or occur in the North are also required to comply with specialized permits. The research investigator is expected to comply with the principles of responsible conduct of research:
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| What is human research or minimal risk? |
| Human research (research involving humans) refers to any project that involves the collection of specimens, data, or information from persons through intervention or otherwise. Included are procedures that have a low degree of invasiveness such as, surveys, interviews, naturalistic observations, exercise or psychometric testing, examination of patient records, as well as more invasive procedures, such as blood sampling and administration of a substance. This also includes projects and procedures that may be defined as Minimal Risk. Minimal risk means that the risks of harm anticipated in the proposed research are not greater or more likely than those ordinarily encountered in life, including those encountered during the performance of routine physical or psychological examinations or tests |
| Research involving human subjects: purpose and guiding principles |
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Lakeland College is committed to ensure that research activities involving human subjects meet all ethical standards and policies. A key purpose is to ensure that the rights of human subjects participating in research projects conducted in the name of the College are respected and that such research is conducted ethically. Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans describes the principles that must guide research involving human subjects. Specifically:
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| How do I get human research ethics approval? |
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Lakeland College currently doesn't have its own Research Ethics Board (REB) to review human research ethics. We have a Memorandum of Understanding with Red Deer College to access their REB. Forms and instructions for research ethics submission are available on RDC’s Research Ethics Board web pages. Submit completed forms to Lakeland College’s Applied Research team for review. If you need help, please contact us before you submit the form to Red Deer College’s REB. |
| How do I get animal research ethics approval? |
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Research involving animals is governed by college procedure 4.58 Care of Animals Under College Control. Research involving animals can't proceed until the research protocol has been approved by the College’s Animal Care Committee. Research protocols will follow Canada Council on Animal Care (CCAC) guidelines. For more information, contact: |
Tri-Agency Statement on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)
Lakeland College endorses the Tri-Agency Statement on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI).
The 3 agencies involved are Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council
The charter is part of a program called Dimensions. Its goal is "foster transformational change within the research community at Canadian post-secondary institutions by identifying and eliminating obstacles and inequities".
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council are committed to excellence in research and research training. Achieving a more equitable, diverse and inclusive Canadian research enterprise is essential to creating the excellent, innovative and impactful research necessary to advance knowledge and understanding, and to respond to local, national and global challenges.
With these goals in mind, the agencies are committed to:
- supporting equitable access to funding opportunities for all researchers and trainees
- promoting the integration of equity, diversity and inclusion-related considerations in research design and practices
- increasing equitable and inclusive participation in the research system, including on research teams
- collecting the data and conducting the analyses needed to include equity, diversity and inclusion considerations in decision-making
Through these means the agencies will work with those involved in the research system to develop the inclusive culture needed for research excellence and to achieve outcomes that are rigorous, relevant and accessible to diverse populations.