Research Ethics Committee

Bermuda College Research Ethics Committee Guidelines

Who should apply?

Anyone conducting research involving Bermuda College students and/or college employees. Exceptions include:

  • Internal research matters such as the end of term faculty evaluations.
  • Research carried out as part of a course assingment provided all results will remain in-house.


Complete the Human Research Ethics Committee Application Form in order to apply.

Timeline

When submitting an application, please take into consideration that members of the committee have other professional obligations. Please allow for a six-week turnaround time.

Resource

Please consider the members of the committee as a resource. Most of the team have high level research oriented degrees.

Basic guidelines to take into consideration when making applications to the Research Ethics Committee

Applicants seeking approval from the Research Ethics Committee should consider the following core principles as well as any others that may apply to your work. Failure to address these issues may result in delays to your approval.

Autonomy

Potential researchers are expected to demonstrate that they intend to respect the autonomy of those individuals involve in your research. This would generally include the following:

  • Providing participants with the necessary information to make an informed decision as to whether or not they wish to take part (informed consent).
  • Ensure that participants are not subject to coercion.
  • Ensure that participants are aware that they can withdraw from the research at any time without penalty during the research process and are not required to explain their decision.
  • Ensuring that the data collected will be protected via confidentiality or anonymity.

Maximum Benefit

There is an expectation that you will show why your research is worthwhile, and that the benefits outweigh the risks. While they recipient of the benefit may vary, they may include society, scientific scholarship or the participants. Ensuring that you maximise the benefits is considered part of your obligation to the research subjects. This would normally entail:

  • Designing, reviewing and conducting research in a manner that ensures quality and integrity and maximises the chance of obtaining useful results.
  • Ensuring that the rational and goals of the research are transparent and that the methodology is appropriate.
  • Ensuring that the results are disseminated.

 

Minimise Harm

There is an expectation that you have thoroughly considered the potential harm to participants and or others which may result from your research.

Integrity

Researchers are expected to conduct their research with integrity and transparency. There is an expectation that you will declare any existing or potential conflicts of interest. Any decision to withhold information must be explained and justified. There is also an expectation that your research does not unfairly discriminate against certain individuals or groups.