Ethics Regulations
If you did a project that involved experimenting with or on humans, vertebrate animals, or cephalopods, you need an ethics review. You will require approval from the Chair of the Regina Regional Science Fair in order to compete in the RRSF. The outcome of the ethics review may require extra work on your part as a competitor.
There are rules when working with any organism that can feel stress or pain. These rules are established both federally and provincially. Because the regional science fair feeds into the Canada Wide Science Fair, an event that is national in scope, you are required to abide by the same rules as any other researcher in Canada.
Any work with a vertebrate animal (non-human) or cephalopod:
Vertebrates are animals of a large group distinguished by the possession of a backbone or spinal column, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fishes. Cephalopods are invertebrates with large, vertebrate-like central nervous system (e.g. Octopus) and are treated according to the rules for Vertebrate Animals. Please consider the three R’s from international guidelines on the use of animals in research: Replace (use a non-animal model), Reduce (use fewer animals), Refine (ensure your procedure causes no stress on the animal).
YES – you need an ethics review.
YES – your work is subject to provincial and federal ethics laws governing the use of animals in research
YES – you must receive approval from the RRSF BEFORE doing any experimentation if you intend to participate in the RRSF. Click here to contact the Chair of the RRSF. Explain your intended research and provide the step-by-step procedure that you intend to use, as well as details of your specimens.
Work using any other non-human animal (invertebrates and non-cephalopods):
Students may do experiments on invertebrate animals, and exhibit their work in science fairs. Lower orders of life – bacteria, fungi, protozoa, plants and invertebrate animals with elementary nervous systems – can be used in experimentation to reveal valuable basic biological information.
The Regina Regional Science Fair reserves the right to disallow a project involving experimentation on invertebrates that is of questionable scientific or educational value, or is judged to be unethical.
YES – You need an ethics review. If your experiment is educationally valuable and not unnecessarily cruel, it will likely pass the ethics review without additional steps. e.g. Yes, you are allowed to work on worms, but, no, you are not allowed to microwave them to see what happens. So there are still ethical limits. Click here to contact the Chair of the RRSF. Explain your intended research and provide the step-by-step procedure that you intend to use, as well as details of your specimens.
Work using human subjects that is deemed low risk:
A low-risk human project is one that involves conditions where the risks of harm are not greater or more likely than those encountered in everyday life. Low Risk Projects are limited to:
* Some surveys
* Some food and drink projects
* Some caffeinated beverage projects
* Some absorption through the skin projects
* Some exercise projects
YES – You need an ethics review. The RRSF will determine if your project is indeed low-risk.
YES – you will require informed consent. This means drafting a letter of consent that explains your research that participants have to agree to. If your participants are under the age of 18, the consent must come from their parents. This consent must be: in writing, must have signatures, and must be kept as official documentation to present at competition.
YES – you must receive informed consent from participants BEFORE doing any experimentation.
YES – you must receive approval from the RRSF BEFORE doing any experimentation if you intend to participate in the RRSF. Click here to contact the Chair of the RRSF. Explain your intended research and provide the step-by-step procedure that you intend to use, as well as details of your specimens.
Work using human subjects that has significant risk:
If a project involving human subjects is not deemed low risk, it involves significant risk.
YES – You need an ethics review.
YES – you will require informed consent. This means drafting a letter of consent that explains your research that participants have to agree to. If your participants are under the age of 18, the consent must come from their parents. This consent must be: in writing, must have signatures, and must be kept as official documentation to present at competition.
YES – your research must be conducted with an accredited adult supervisor who oversees the research.
YES – you must receive informed consent from participants BEFORE doing any experimentation.
YES – you must receive approval from the RRSF BEFORE doing any experimentation if you intend to participate in the RRSF. Click here to contact the Chair of the RRSF. Explain your intended research and provide the step-by-step procedure that you intend to use, as well as details of your specimens.
What if I began experimenting before contacting the RRSF or meeting necessary ethics steps?
Contact the Chair of the RRSF. This will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
The answer will vary depending on the type of subject and the nature of the work.
It is possible that the project and the research will be disqualified from participating at any regional science fair.
If your project falls into any of these four categories, and you arrive at the RRSF without the ethics review, your project will be automatically disqualified and will not be permitted to be displayed at the event. Your project will be ineligible for any awards. The RRSF reserves the right to remove a project from contention of awards at any time due to ethics concerns.
To learn more about the National Ethics regulations please visit:
Safety and Ethics – mySTEMspace