Human Ethics Principles & Guidelines

Human research ethics at the University of Toronto (U of T) is founded on the following core principles.

• Respect for persons: recognizing the intrinsic value of human beings and the respect and consideration they are due
• Concern for welfare: caring about the quality of all people’s experience of life in all of its aspects
• Justice: the obligation to treat people fairly and equitably
   

These core principles are the foundation of the University’s secondary research ethics principles listed below. Research ethics principles are the considerations discussed and deliberated on through the review of human ethics protocols.

• Free and informed consent
• Fairness and equity in research participation
• Privacy and confidentiality
• Conflicts of interest
• Risks and benefits
• Compensation
• Dissemination of research results

U of T has developed the following Ethics Guidelines to help researchers understand and navigate ethics principles while writing their protocols.

Please reach out to the corresponding contact within the Division of the Vice-President, Research & Innovation (VPRI) for more information on the Ethics Guidelines. Full contact information can be found in the VPRI Contact section below.

• Informed Consent
• Data Security Standards for Personally Identifiable & Other Confidential Data in Research
• Compensation & Reimbursement
• Interviewing Public Personalities
• Participant Observation
• Deception & Debriefing in Research
• Use of Student Participation Pools in Research
• Teacher-Researcher Role-Based Conflict
• External Pressure to Disclose Participant Data
• Participant Safety in Physical Activity Studies

• Advise and consult on the principles of human research ethics as they apply to developing a research project and writing an ethics protocol