Sample Cases

1. An Ethnographic Study of Indigenous People
2. Elementary School Research Participants
3. A Graduate Social Worker's Masters Thesis
4. Research Design with Humans in Mind
5. The Internet as a Research Tool: For Deception!

1.  An Ethnographic Study of Indigenous People

A research ethics board member is reading a protocol for expedited review.  The research involves participant observation with a group of indigenous people in Siberia.  The researcher had made previous studies with the indigenous group and had made many contacts of key individuals.  Earning the trust of the group was a basic requirement for doing any research amongst them, which the researcher had done.  The REB member notices that no consent form is attached.  The researcher has asked that the consent form not be used in this case because the culture being studied is an oral culture where writing has little or no meaning.  The researcher will obtain verbal consent from the people, in the manner that they wish the information used. The researcher will also only be interviewing adults who are competent to consent.  The REB reviewer decides to approve the research ethics application.

Question:  Can research using interviews or surveys be approved if there is no written consent to the research?
 

TCPS Article 3.12
“Article 3.12 Evidence of consent shall be contained either in a signed consent form or in documentation by the researcher of another appropriate means of consent.

Application  Written consent in a signed statement from the participant is a common means of demonstrating consent, and in some instances, is mandatory (e.g., Health Canada regulations under the Food and Drugs Act, the Civil Code of Québec). However, there are other means of providing consent that are equally ethically acceptable. In some types of research, and for some groups or individuals, written signed consent may be perceived as an attempt to legalize or formalize the consent process and therefore may be interpreted by the participant as a lack of trust on the part of the researcher. In these cases, oral consent, a verbal agreement or a handshake may be required, rather than signing a consent form. In some cultures, the giving and receiving of gifts symbolizes the establishment of a relationship comparable to consent.”

The Tri-Council Policy Statement Chapter 9 “Research Involving the First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples of Canada” outlines some of the ethical challenges involved with doing research with Aboriginal peoples.