Guidelines for conducting research when participants are part of an organization or group

Identifying a contact at the organization

The research team will likely need to seek permission from an organization representative to recruit and collect data from its members. This individual is someone who controls access to part or all an organization or group (e.g., an administrator at a long-term care home, school principal, company director).

Whenever a research project involves recruitment within an organization, the researcher needs to determine who is the most appropriate contact. This is not always clear and may take time. When a  collaboration with organizations or groups is ongoing, the researcher becomes experienced at recognizing who is the best contact and who should be included in the approval process (and who should not). Often students benefit from their supervisor’s or senior research staff’s experience and relationships with particular groups.

When to contact a custodian or representative will depend on the research project and may need to be made many months in advance of the planned schedule for recruitment.

Planning should occur before a research ethics application is submitted to the REB at the University of Waterloo and/or to the internal REB at a research site. This is in line with TCPS2 (2022) article 6.11 which explains that while REB review is required prior to recruitment and data collection, it is not required for the “initial exploratory phase, which is intended to establish research partnerships or to inform the design of a research proposal and may involve contact with individuals or communities”.

Researchers need to carefully consider what steps ought to be taken in the context of their unique study. The time to contact the organization, discuss the design and implementation of the project, and obtain any necessary approvals before recruiting participants must all be considered when planning your timeline.  

Things to consider when planning your research project:

• The organization/group may not support your project
• The study may require resources from the organization (e.g., staff time, equipment, space)
• The study may introduce unique risks to study participants (e.g., impact their standing in group)

Working with a contact at the organization will assist with determining:

• The feasibility of conducting the study within the organization
• If there is an internal approval process
• Appropriate recruitment procedures (e.g., how to best recruit this group and recommended remuneration)
• Possible risks to the research team; please review the risks to researchers guideline 

Example

For a course project, a group of students wanted to survey customers at the St. Jacobs and Kitchener markets on their opinions regarding local produce and sustainability practices. The students:

• Consulted managers at each market to obtain permission to recruit customers on site for their upcoming study.  
• Obtained ethics clearance through the University of Waterloo.
• Provided the managers with a copy of their final survey, recruitment script and information-consent letter, as well as the dates, times and number of student researchers that would be on site.
• Worked with the managers to determine an appropriate location where they could set up a booth to assist with recruiting potential participants. In their verbal recruitment scripts, the students informed potential participants that the managers were aware of the study.

Note:  if more than one group of students for a course wanted to conduct research at the markets, the course instructor would typically be the one to contact the managers and provide information on the different projects and obtain permission. 

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Applying TCPS2 principles

Informed consent

Potential participants may need to know that permission to conduct the study was given by the organization and, for example: 

• if they choose to participate, participation can be done during work hours (or not)
• participation is not part of their usual activities or care provided by the organization
• participation or non-participation will not affect the level of services or care being provided 
• the organization will not know if they choose to participate in the study

Protecting privacy

Rather than members of the research team contacting prospective participants directly, the organization may do so on the researchers' behalf to protect their privacy. Their involvement may depend on their relationship with potential participants (e.g., if they are directly involved in the care of prospective participants or if they are perceived as an authority figure then they may be less involved). 

If contact information for the potential participants is not publicly available and potential participants are members of an organization (e.g., customers, residents, students), then under the Canadian Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and the Ontario Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA), contact information cannot be provided to the researchers unless permission has been given by the individuals. 

Individuals interested in participating in the research should contact the researcher to sign up for the study or access an online survey. The organization should not know who has or has not decided to participate. 

Voluntary participation

Please see TCPS2 (2022) article 3.1 for considerations pertaining to undue influence. 

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Types of approval and recruitment procedures

Organizations with internal REB review processes

Facilities or institutions such as hospitals often have an internal research ethics board (REB). When a recruitment site has an internal research ethics review process, ethics clearance may need to be obtained through the recruitment site’s internal REB, in addition to the required clearance from the  University of Waterloo. 

If study procedures involve staff and/or use of the site’s space or equipment, then it is recommended the entire protocol details be discussed with the organization prior to submitting an ethics application to the REBs since the organization may recommend changes to the proposed recruitment process and/or procedures (e.g., to minimize involvement time for participants). If the organization’s staff are conducting and/or participating in the study, the manager may need to agree that they can use their time in this way. If the organization recommends changes to study procedures after ethics clearance has been obtained, an amendment to the ethics application must be submitted to the Office of Research Ethics (and possibly to the internal REB) and receive clearance prior to the changes being implemented.

Example

In a study proposing to examine the impacts of art therapy for people who have experienced trauma, the research team identified a therapeutic art program at a local hospital and then undertook the following steps: 

• Discussed project idea with the program’s Art Therapist and the possibility of assisting with the research which would involve sending an information letter by email to potential participant's on the research team's behalf and/or arrange a time during an art therapy session for the research team to introduce themselves and further discuss what participation in the study would involve
• Obtained ethics clearance through the University of Waterloo
• Obtained ethics clearance through the hospital’s REB
• Sent a formal invitation to participate in the research to the Art Therapist
• Shared the approved email template with the Art Therapist to send the information letter to potential participants on the research team’s behalf and discussed times for the research team to introduce the study at an art therapy session

Organizations with other types of research review processes

Some organizations/groups have a committee, council or other body that determines whether the research can take place. In these cases, researchers need to submit their study for an ethics review and clearance at Waterloo and obtain approvals via the relevant committee or council before recruitment can begin.

Example

Researcher's obligations

Reporting back and sharing study findings