The Tri-Council Policy Statement

Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans is a definitive source of guidelines and best practices for conducting research with human participants. It is a joint publication of the three main federal granting agencies in Canada: the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, published in 1998. The guidelines in the TCPS2 are grounded in the underlying value of respect for human dignity. This means that any research involving humans must be “sensitive to the inherent worth of all human beings and the respect and consideration that they are due” (TCPS2, 2022, p.5). This notion is further specified by a set of guiding principles that imply certain inherent rights of research participants:

• Respect for Persons
• Respect for Free and Informed Consent
• Respect for Vulnerable Persons
• Concern for Welfare
• Respect for Privacy and Confidentiality
• Minimizing Harm/Maximizing Benefits
• Respect for Justice and Inclusiveness

Knowing these principles in their general sense, as well as how such principles are applied to different issues and in different contexts, is essential to proper research conduct. Each of these terms has specific implications as they are applied to the practice of research. There are three core ethical principles that we will focus more in-depth as they guide the ethical practice of research. These ethical principles include respect for persons, beneficence, and justice. These three principles arose as a response to many of the mistreatments and abuses previously discussed and provide important guidance as researchers consider how they will construct and conduct their research studies. As you craft your research proposal, make sure you are mindful of these important ethical guidelines.

Note: The TCPS 2 (2022) has now replaced TCPS 2 (2018) as the official human research ethics policy of the Agencies.

 Respect for Persons

According to the respect for persons principle, as researchers, we need to treat all research participants with respect, dignity and inherent autonomy. This is reflected by ensuring that participants have the self-determination to make informed decisions about their participation in research, that they have a clear understanding of what they will be asked to do and any risks involved, and that their participation is voluntary and can be withdrawn at any time. Furthermore, for individuals with diminished autonomy (e.g., children or people who are incarcerated), research studies must include additional safeguards to ensure their rights and dignity are protected, as these groups may be particularly vulnerable to exploitation or coercion. A key way to uphold respect for persons in research is through a thorough informed consent process.

Beneficence

You may not be familiar with this word yet, but the concept is straightforward. The main idea behind beneficence is that the intent of research is to do good. To accomplish this as researchers, we seek to maximize benefits and minimize risks. Benefits may be something good or advantageous directly received by research participants, or they may represent a broader good to a wider group of people or the scientific community at large (such as increasing knowledge about the topic or social problem that you are studying). Risks are potential physical, social, or emotional harm that may arise from participation in a study. These risks may be more immediate (e.g., the risk of participant identifying information being shared or a participant being upset or triggered by a particular question) or long-term (e.g., some information about the person could be shared that might lead to long-term stigmatization). As researchers, we need to consider risks experienced by the individual, as well as risks that might affect the community or population(s) the individual represents. For instance, if our study is focused on surveying single parents, we need to consider how the sharing of our findings might impact this group and how they are perceived. It is rare for a study to have no risk to participants. However, a well-designed and ethically sound study will seek to minimize these risks, provide resources to anticipate and address them, and maximize the benefits gained through the study.

Justice

The final ethical principle we need to cover is justice. While you likely have some idea what justice is, for the purposes of research, justice is the idea that the benefits and burdens of research are distributed fairly across populations and groups. To illustrate justice in research, studies have historically been critiqued for failing to adequately represent women and people of diverse racial and ethnic groups in their samples (Cundiff, 2012). This has created a body of knowledge that is overly representative of the white male experience, further reinforcing systems of power and privilege. In addition, consider the influence of language as it relates to research justice. If studies only recruit participants fluent in English, which many do, they often fail to satisfy the ethical principle of justice for people who do not speak English. It is unrealistic to represent all people in all studies; however, we must thoughtfully acknowledge voices that might not be reflected in our samples and attempt to recruit diverse and representative participants whenever possible.

Table 3.2 outlines three core ethical principles—respect for persons, beneficence, and justice—along with their definitions and examples of how they are applied in research.

Remixed from:

• Quantitative Research Methods for the Applied Human Sciences, by Peter Morden (2024) published under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
  • Chapter 1: Introduction

• Graduate Research Methods in Social Work by Dr. Matt DeCarlo, Dr. Cory Cummings, and Kate Agnelli (2021), published under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
  • Chapter 6: Research ethics

Media Attributions

• Katie [avatar] by Katie Gregson on Canva using Canva AI image creation https://www.canva.com/ai-assistant/ is subject to the Canva Pro Content License.
• Figure 3.5 Ethical principles guide responsible and respectful nursing research is by Ime Stavinga/TRU Open Press and is subject to the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

References

Canadian Institutes of Health Research. (n.d.). CIHR – Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Government of Canada. https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/193.html

Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, & Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. (2022). Tri‑Council policy statement: Ethical conduct for research involving humans (TCPS 2). Government of Canada: Panel on Research Ethics. https://ethics.gc.ca/eng/policy-politique_tcps2-eptc2_2022.html

Canadian Nurses Association. (2017). Code of ethics for registered nurses [PDF]. https://www.crns.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Code-of-Ethics-2017-Edition.pdf

Cundiff, J. L. (2012). Is mainstream psychological research “womanless” and “raceless”? An updated analysis. Sex Roles, 67(3-4), 158–173.

DeCarlo, M., Cummings, C., & Agnelli, K. (2021). Chapter 6.0.: Research Ethics. In Graduate research methods in social work. [In Social Sci LibreTexts]. https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Under_Construction/Graduate_research_methods_in_social_work_(DeCarlo_Cummings_and_Agnelli)/06%3A_Conceptualizing_your_research_project_-_Research_ethics/6.00%3A_Research_ethics

Gregson K., & Stavinga I. (2025, November 8, 2025). Interview with Dr. Rani Srivastava on ethics, diversity and inclusion in nursing research [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dloB2TKFU8I

Morden, P. (2024, December 9). Quantitative research methods for the applied human sciences. Concordia University Library. https://opentextbooks.concordia.ca/quantitativeresearch/

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. (n.d.). NSERC – Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. Government of Canada. https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/index_eng.asp

Panel on Research Ethics. (n.d.). TCPS 2: CORE‑2022 (Course on Research Ethics). Government of Canada. https://tcps2core.ca/welcome

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. (n.d.). SSHRC – Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Government of Canada. https://sshrc-crsh.canada.ca/en.aspx