Ethics Live!    @CIHR Fall 2005 - Number 4

TCPS on Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans: PRE's Online Tutorial & Interpretation Projects

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Of the following, which best describes the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS)?

A policy that describes principles, standards and procedures for governing research. The TCPS applies to all research affiliated with, and undertaken by, members of research institutions administering funds awarded by any of the three granting agencies (CIHR, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)). A policy that describes principles, standards and procedures for governing research involving human subjects. The TCPS applies to all research involving humans affiliated with, and undertaken by, members of research institutions administering funds awarded by any of the three granting agencies (CIHR, NSERC, and SSHRC). A Canadian policy that sets ethical standards for the conduct of research, applicable to most government agencies and departments.

If for the above multiple choice question you selected answer "b" then you chose correctly. If not, perhaps a visit to the Interagency Advisory Panel on Research Ethics (PRE) online tutorial on the TCPS is in order.

PRE launched the TCPS Tutorial in April 2004, and already it has been completed by some 3,000 users. This tool is just one of the ways that PRE, on behalf of CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC, is working to increase awareness of the ethical implications of research involving humans, and to integrate the TCPS into the thinking of all those involved in this type of research.

Bruce Clayman, Chair, Interagency Advisory Panel on Research Ethics

"We seek to engage the community," says Bruce Clayman, PRE Chair. "We want them to take an active interest in achieving and maintaining the highest standard of ethics as an integral part of the overall research process. Providing researchers, administrators, students and participants with a solid understanding of the TCPS is vital, and we think that resources such as our introductory Tutorial and the more advanced Interpretations Service - both available online - contribute significantly. They help translate policy into practice."

Both the Tutorial and the Interpretations Service aim to support and educate the research community across Canada; therefore an online tool was considered to be the best approach.

"PRE's Tutorial is one of the first government-sponsored online research ethics tutorials in Canada," said Derek Jones, Executive Director of the Secretariat for the Interagency Advisory Panel on Research Ethics.

"The Tutorial is a publicly available and self-administered educational resource that covers the first five sections of the TCPS. A growing number of universities and other institutions have incorporated it into their research ethics educational programs." The Tutorial introduces the goals of the policy and explores issues of Ethics Review, Free and Informed Consent, Privacy and Confidentiality, Conflict of Interest, and Inclusion in Research. It also includes three research ethics case studies, a self-evaluation tool and a certificate of completion.

Intended to alert researchers to some of the ethical issues that need to be considered when conducting research with humans, the Tutorial also clarifies the ethical principles that are identified and discussed in the TCPS.

It takes approximately two hours to complete, perhaps more if you decide to follow all the links and read all three case studies. You can take the entire Tutorial in one session, or you may complete it over a number of sessions.

"The feedback that we have received on the Tutorial has been very positive," Jones says. "The Tutorial contributes to a common culture of understanding and use of the TCPS."

In addition, PRE has begun to build another tool to facilitate use and understanding of the TCPS: an online bank of PRE's Interpretations of the TCPS. It is part of a public service for interpreting technical and policy matters that either have broad national applications or that present challenges at the institutional level.

"As part of PRE's Interpretation project, we have begun to post a collection of PRE's official responses to formal written queries posed by TCPS users, on issues that arise over the application or meaning of particular standards and procedures in the TCPS," Jones says.

By responding to written questions on the TCPS, PRE seeks to support the needs of participants, researchers, and research ethics boards in the effective use and understanding of the TCPS. Answering these questions also helps PRE identify issues, gaps and ambiguities in the TCPS that may require clarification or amendment. Posting these interpretations on the Web is one way for PRE to respond to the evolving needs of the TCPS user community. This posting is also in keeping with PRE's mandate to develop a publicly accessible bank of interpretations.

TCPS Introductory Tutorial The Introductory Tutorial for the TCPS Interpretation Project The Interpretation Project on the TCPS