School of Nursing - The Chang School - Ryerson University

Following Course:
• Written course and faculty evaluations are to be completed by all students. Summaries of
student responses to the course evaluations are used in planning course revisions and are made
available to the Director .
After students have completed the above, if they wish to propose formal changes, they are to submit
them in writing, with the rationale and an indication of the extent of class support. Submit the proposal to
either the Associate Director, the Post Diploma Degree Curriculum Committee or School Council. Be
prepared to discuss the proposal with the Curriculum Committee or Council.
If the students have followed the above protocol and they still feel their concerns have not been
adequately addressed, they may contact their student association. All changes must be approved by the
Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing School Council.
RESEARCH
As part of a University environment, the Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing is committed to the
development and enhancement of research and scholarly activities. Many faculty members are involved
in research projects, scholarly activities or advanced education, and have varied expertise in nursing
practice areas, educational approaches and research methodologies. They can be excellent resources
for students interested in specific nursing practice or research topics. Specific faculty interest and
expertise can be found on the Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing website at
http://www.ryerson.ca/nursing/facultystaff.html.
Research and creative activities initiated by students are encouraged within the School, and are an
essential component to many nursing practice and classroom assignments. It is possible that the student
may be engaged in any level of the research process, from reviewing the literature, to collecting data and
analyzing it for the purposes of assisting in a research study. In such instances, students are expected to
conduct themselves in a professional manner, with adherence to the ethical guidelines indicated below.
RESEARCH ETHICS
All research conducted in a University setting (whether by faculty, staff or students) is guided by policies
and procedures designed to protect study participants, the researcher, the University and the public.
Ryerson’s policies and guidelines for ethical conduct of research can be found at:
http://www.ryerson.ca/about/vpresearch/reb.html
These policies are in accordance with Canadian guidelines known as the Tri-Council Policy Statement:
Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans established by the Canadian Institutes of Health
Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, and the Social Sciences and
Humanities Research Council. In order to ensure that research is consistent with these policies, all
research with human subjects must be reviewed and approved by the Ryerson University Research
Ethics Board (REB).
STUDENT RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES RELATED TO RESEARCH
Undergraduate students conducting research as part of their course work or class assignments must work
closely with their faculty member to ensure that the project meets the requirements for ethical conduct.
Ryerson has established guidelines for undergraduate students conducting research for class
assignments that include data collection involving human participants. These guidelines can be found at:
http://www.ryerson.ca/about/vpresearch/student_research.html
Student research is different from information gathering that a student may do as part of a professional
practice experience. Undergraduate student research is defined as “work done by an undergraduate
student as a course assignment that entails data collection involving humans for the purpose of obtaining
either primary or secondary data on research participants.” Professional practice is undertaken by
students “when learning or doing the work of the profession. In general, professional practice for
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