Research Ethics

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The University of Alberta serves the community by the dissemination of knowledge through teaching and the discovery of knowledge through research. As one of Canada's largest research-intensive universities, the University of Alberta is committed to excellence in research based on the highest national and international standards, and to actively promoting the important role of research in teaching.

The University is accountable for the work carried out by faculty, staff and students under its auspices. In addition to personal, institutional, scholarly or professional expectations, institutions also have to meet external accountabilities. The University is obligated to comply with the following requirements (among others):

Good science and scholarship is conducted ethically; this includes personal conduct and professional standards as well as research ethics.

Research ethics focuses on the participants or subjects of the research rather than on the individuals doing the research. Fundamentally, research ethics review is geared toward protecting participants by minimizing the harms or risk to which they are exposed.

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Upcoming Events

LOUIS D. HYNDMAN SR. LECTURE SERIES

Compassion Fatigue and Building a Compassion Resilience Culture 

Speaker: J. Preston Van Hooser, University of Washington, Review Scientist and Compliance Manager

Date: Tuesday, May 23, 2023 | 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Location: Telus International Centre (TEL), Room 150, U of A North Campus

Register for the Lecture and Luncheon

Acknowledging, respecting, and preserving the bond between research animals and their human caregivers is vitally important for the well-being of all participants in the research enterprise. In recent years, there has been an increased recognition of the potential cost of caring on the mental well-being of research animal facility personnel. Factors that can contribute to these feelings in those working with animals in research include compassion and moral stress, issues related to staffing and scheduling of work, insufficient communication in the workplace, and public ambivalence toward the use of animals in science.

Attendees will learn about:

  • Compassion fatigue and its impact on the animal research community.
  • Steps that organizations can take to monitor and address stressors experienced in animal care settings, to identify compassion fatigue, and to implement effective countermeasures that have been identified in similarly emotionally taxing workplaces will be presented.
  • The importance of developing a compassion resilience culture, along with tools and strategies to create this culture and validate and strengthen the human-animal bond.

Time will be available for participant questions and discussion.

J. Preston Van Hooser

J. Preston Van Hooser