The Research Ethics Board wants a word with you . . .

In my CS 280 class (Risk and Reward in the Information Society) we have to do a group topic. I had an immediate idea that had even been in my head before the class even began. Fortunately, I was able to get three great partners within 24 hours of posting the idea and our group was formed. Now, at this time I cannot divulge the nature of this idea, but I can tell you that while the professor liked the idea he noted there may be a problem. Enter the Research Ethics Board and the requirement to do a full review of the ethics of our idea.

My initial thought was "Oh no, there goes our idea" but it has turned out to be a serious blessing in disguise. The concerns they have been raised has forced our group to clearly communicate about what is important, and what we really need to do to get good results.  When you are in the middle of an idea that you think is incredibly awesome you are blind to the problems hiding in the corner. Even though the ethics review did not focus on the central thesis of our project, the Research Ethics Board has asked good questions and brought up excellent objections in their ethical review. Have you ever read the ethical guidelines for research? It is a great guide for coming up with your next research project:

http://pre.ethics.gc.ca/pdf/eng/tcps2/TCPS_2_FINAL_Web.pdf

Our group has now rewritten our research plan to deal with the objections raised by the REB, and guess what? We will still accomplish the same goals. We should still be able to do our research. Yet, it will be easier for us to do, we will be able to complete it quicker, and our presentation will be even more meaningful for both our class and for others who will have a chance to read it. Why? Because the review has forced us to consider what was truly important, eliminate side investigations that would get us into trouble, and most of all to share our ideas.

The other big advantage the the Ethics Review? When you are taking a course in programming, you really learn the materials when you sit down in front of a text editor and start writing programs. You learn about digital circuits when you open up a logic simulator and start putting together gates, flip flops, registers, and other cool stuff to make complex circuits. Where best to learn about ethics then to actually write a real Ethics Review Proposal for your project. Even if I never learn anything more from this course, the REB has taught me more than enough to justify taking the course. As a mature student I really appreciate the extra work - it is really making me think harder, and learn more, and that is something I can put on my CV. I haven't just taken a course on IT Ethics, I've actually written and participated in the ethical review procedure - something that is valuable in itself.

Hopefully we will get our formal approve from the REB soon, but if not, we have already discussed Plan B - always something good to have anyway.

More on the Office of Research Services at the University of Regina is found here: http://www.uregina.ca/research/index.shtml