How to Do Ethical and Community-Based Research
Start here to learn more about what CBR is. Inform yourself so you can design an ethical methodology and frame expectations with, by, and for communities.
UBC Learning Circle / Evan Adams
This resource introduces the concept of cultural humility, aimed at ensuring cultural safety, i.e. creating an environment free of racism and discrimination and where people feel safe and respected. Used in health service delivery, the concept is also useful in the context of doing research.
PACE Society / Raven Bowen
This guide addresses ethical issues in doing research with sex workers that can extend to other marginalized people. It includes a section with practical questions to consider in doing research with organizations.
Carnegie Community Action Project
This report provides an example of how to use community mapping as a tool to bring together local residents to share their knowledge and experiences.
Co-authored by: Elizabeth Estey, Janet Smylie, Ann Macaulay
This resource provides an overview of key tools on doing ethical research with Aboriginal peoples, including CIHR Guidelines, the Tri-Council Policy Statement, the 4 R’s of research, and the OCAP principles.
Co-Authored by: Scott Neufeld, Jule Chapman, Nicolas Crier, Samona Marsh, Jim McLeod, Lindsay Deane
This article reports on the project creating the “Manifesto for Ethical Research in the Downtown Eastside”, offering insights and empowering resources for community organizations entering university research partnerships.
Simon Fraser University CERi
This website outlines ten ethical principles for community-engaged research, including harm and risk reduction, attention to context, focus on relationships, and more.
How to Plan a Community-Campus Research Partnership
Build collaborative relationships, ensure representation, clarify contributions
Centre for Community Based Research
A handy check-list for communities and community organizations considering working with outside researchers.
Community-Based Research Centre
The Community-Based Research Centre CBRC prepared a tool for (primarily) university researchers to check how effectively their research is serving the communities/community organizations they (hope to) work with.
First Nations Health Authority
The Researcher Guides section of the FNHA’s “Research Resources” page includes multiple guides for researchers seeking to approach First Nations with a research proposal.
Hives for Humanity
A convenient card-style pamphlet about developing ongoing informed consent for CBR.
Simon Fraser University CERi
A practical and accessible guide designed for community-serving organizations, students, and researchers who aim to advance community interests through research. The handbook provides a framework to guide the development of community engaged research projects, focusing on ethics, research methods, procedures, and potential challenges.
Simon Fraser University CERi
SFU’s Community-Engaged Research initiative (CERi)’s webinars on how to continue community-centered research during a pandemic (with links to YouTube video recordings).
Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU)
This page presents a list of principles for researchers working with the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU), a liberation movement of people who use drugs. It also discusses research agreements.
How to Make Research Accessible
Create stigma-free materials and share beyond journal articles
BC Campus
A quick explanation of Creative Commons and Open licenses, provided by BC Campus – OpenEducation. This organization also offers additional information on open educational resources.
BC Centre for Disease Control
This tool provides language guidelines designed to make COVID-19 written and digital content more inclusive. Inclusive messaging makes it more likely for people to see the content as relevant to their situation and experiences, therefore increasing the chances they will act on it.
Creative Commons
Creative Commons, a global body that provides open-copyright licences, offers free, simple, and standardized ways to grant copyright permissions for creative and academic works to be shared publicly.
Co-authored by: Janet Jull, Audrey Giles, Ian Graham
By better understanding the similarities and differences between CBR and knowledge translation, researchers and community-based knowledge users can leverage best practices.
Manitoba Harm Reduction Network
A compact checklist to create stigma-free media products and write respectfully about people who use drugs.
Research Impact Canada
Research Impact Canada offers a range of tools, trainings, and more on knowledge mobilization, including plain language checklists, needs assessment tools, and examples of Research Snapshots (article summaries).
Research Retold
Two chapters of this guide can be downloaded for free; the website also lists the resources mentioned in the guide, including software to create visual summaries, database with free icons, and other data visualization tools.
How to Use Research for the Public Good
Use knowledge exchange and knowledge mobilization strategies to create positive change in communities
Carnegie Community Action Project
This report is an example of how results from a community-engaged consultation process can be shared.
Co-authored by: P. Gaye Hanson, Janet Smylie
This toolkit aims to assist community policy makers in the development of specifically health-related Knowledge Translation policy, for First Nation, Inuit or Métis communities.
Impact Measure
While an older tool, this checklist to measure community members’ perceptions of the impact of a research partnership points to the different areas in which research can create impact (or not).
Co-authored by: Jeffrey Morgan, Cameron Schwartz, Olivier Ferlatte, Caroline Mniszak, Nathan Lachowsky, Jody Jollimore, Mark Hull, Rod Knight
This article discusses a community-based participatory research approach to knowledge translation, specifically via the engagement of community stakeholders in an intervention aimed at facilitating access to HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis.
Public Health Agency of Canada
This short guide includes good primers to consider around how to share research knowledge.
Co-authored by: Izumi Sakamoto, Josie Ricciardi, Jen Plyler, Natalie Wood, Aisha Chapra, Matthew Chin, Billie Allan, Rose Cameron, Monica Nunes
This report includes an informative section on knowledge translation strategies as well as an exemplary section on policy recommendations.
Co-authored by: Michael Wilson, John Lavis, Robb Travers, Sean Rourke
This article includes informative tables linking knowledge transfer and exchange activities with CBR methods and initiatives.
