Do you know that certain types of research require an ethical review?
- Has a Humber department recently asked you to complete a survey aimed at improving service to staff and students?
- Do you want to study your students’ exam marks as part of a research project to strengthen the course assessment methods?
- Do you know your rights as a research participant?
- Do you know your rights as a researcher?
- Do you know the College’s rights to conduct research involving its community?
- What about external organizations that want to access Humber members and their personal and professional information?
Humber’s Research Ethics Board (REB) is here to help.
Who are we?
We are a 10-member team of faculty and administrators from Humber and the external community with expertise in research. We derive our mandate from federal legislation and regulations governing the ethical conduct of research involving human participants. We are guided by the Panel on Research Ethics, which develops, interprets and implements the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS).
Why do we exist?
We exist for one reason: to ensure all research carried out by Humber faculty, staff and students that involves human participants, no matter where the research takes place, is conducted ethically – adhering to the standards set by the federally mandated TCPS. Ultimately, our objective is to promote strong, ethically conducted research at Humber, to the benefit of our entire community.
What do we do?
We review research projects to protect the welfare of participants and researcher(s), in addition to Humber’s reputation. We also consider ethical concerns with research involving animals, plants and the environment.
What factors do we consider?
When assessing applications for ethical considerations, the REB focuses on key factors such as:
- benefits of the research relative to risks (do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages)
- types of risks (such as psychological, financial and reputational)
- methodology (are the tools being used appropriate to the research question/hypothesis)
- deception (why is this necessary, are there dangers)
- incentives (are they appropriate, will they influence response)
- the language used to communicate the study purpose and parameters (will potential participants understand what they are being asked to consent to)
- fairness and equity in participant selection and treatment
- privacy and confidentiality
- conflicts of interest between the researcher(s) and study sponsors (or between the researcher[s] and participants)
- power relations between the researcher(s) and participants
- data handling and disposal
- dissemination of results
Who is on our team?
As Humber REB chair, I am honoured to work with a strong team, anchored by dedicated administrative support from Jaqueline Nicol, Operations and REB Coordinator, in cooperation with Gina Antonacci, Associate Vice-President, Academic, and Darren Lawless, Dean, Applied Research and Innovation.
Our REB members represent a wide range of disciplines and experience:
- Jennifer Bazar, PhD (Curator, Lakeshore Grounds Interpretive Centre)
- Nancy Birch, BEd, OCT, MISt (on leave) (Associate Librarian; Manager, Library Services, University of Guelph-Humber)
- Dana Costin, PhD, CPsych (Professor, Child and Youth Care; registered Clinical and Forensic Psychologist)
- Audel Cunningham, LLB, LLM (Essex), LLM (Pallas) (Professor, The Business School)
- Rita Kohli, MA, MEd, Registered Psychotherapist (CRPO) (Tools-4-Change, Principal Consultant; external community member)
- Jaime Lapeyre, RN, PhD (Registered Nurse; Professor, Bachelor of Nursing, School of Health Sciences)
- Mojgan Rezvani, PhD, MSc, MSc (Edu), BSc (Spec. Hon.), OCT (Program Coordinator, Professor, Principal Investigator, Biotechnology, Clinical Research, Regulatory Affairs Programs, School of Health Sciences)
- Jeffrey Semple, PhD (Bioscience Professor, School of Health Sciences)
- Ann Wainwright, PhD (Psychology Professor, School of Liberal Arts and Sciences)
How are we connecting with the Humber community?
We are embarking on a wide-ranging awareness program across the College to help our Humber community understand the REB and ethics in research generally. One key component of this awareness program will be a regular bulletin in the Humber Communiqué. Each bulletin will highlight ethical issues of the day, arising from actual Humber work and external news and events, which are all around us. Look for our first bulletin later this month.
How can you contact us?
If you are not sure your research needs an ethical review, please contact the REB office at reb@humber.ca or lydia.boyko@humber.ca.
For more information about our REB, please visit humber.ca/research/reb.
Here are the answers to the questions above:
- If a Humber College department wants to survey the Humber community to improve service and is publishing the results outside the College, REB review is required.
- If a professor or an administrator wants to use student work as part of a research study, REB review is required.
- External organizations that want to access Humber community information must secure Humber REB and institutional approvals.
Lydia Boyko, APR, FLMI, BJ, MEd, PhD
Chair, Humber Research Ethics Board
Professor, School of Media Studies & Information Technology
