Research Ethics and Intellectual Property
Policies
All research plans involving human subjects must receive ethics approval. See policy R20.01. Copies of the policy, procedures and forms for this review may be obtained from the Office of Research Services.
Research at SFU is conducted under the general authority of the Vice President, Research who administers several relevant University policies; for further information on these policies, consult the Office of the Vice President, Research.
- Policy R20.01
Ethics Review of Research Involving Human Subjects governs all research involving human subjects (participants). Specific approval by the University Research Ethics Board is required prior to start of any such research project (funded or unfunded) in this area by any researcher associated with SFU. - Policy R20.02
Biosafety Committee governs all research involving recombinant DNA and other biohazards. Specific prior approval and monitoring by the appropriate person or committee (please consult the full policy) are required for any research project or program in these areas at SFU. - Policy R20.03
Treatment of Animals in Research and Teaching applies to all such research and requires prior specific approval by the University Animal Care Committee. Animals are defined as non-human, living vertebrates. - Policy R20.04
Radiological Safety applies to all research involving radiological materials and requires prior approval. - Policy R30.01
Copyright Policy acknowledges the exclusive proprietary right of all graduate students to their own thesis products. Rights to other materials may be vested in the University or may be jointly owned by the originator and the University. This policy is under review at the time of writing. - Policy R30.02
Patent Policy recognizes that patent rights to any invention made by faculty, staff or student on University time belong to the inventor unless there is a contract to the contrary. This very generous policy is designed to provide an incentive for research, development and innovation. - Policy R30.03
This policy replaces policies 30.01 and 30.02. However, any intellectual property created on or before July 21, 2004 use the older R30.01 and R30.02 policies. The enterprise of training students in performing scholarly activities in the pursuit of new knowledge necessarily results in the generation of intellectual property. All students and their supervisors should refer to this policy as a first exposure to understanding their roles, rights, and responsibilities regarding intellectual property. - Policy R50.02
Personnel Funded from Research Grants includes the stipulation that Research Assistants and other persons hired under research grants and contracts are employees of the principal investigator (PI), not of the University. Terms of appointment are determined by the PI, consistent with relevant legislation. - Policy R60.01
Integrity in Research and Misconduct in Research lays out the expectations of the University on all researchers and provides a mechanism for investigating allegations of misconduct which include falsification and fabrication of data, failure to acknowledge the contributions of others to the research and failure to comply with the provisions of the R20 policies described above. Allegations of misconduct in research should be directed to the Office of the Vice President, Research. - Policy GP 37
Conflict of Interest: As a place of learning, the University encourages its faculty, staff and students to be broadly involved in professional interests and activities compatible with the University’s mission, values and commitments. Occasionally, the best interests of the University and the personal interests of its Members may conflict, or may be perceived to conflict.
All researchers are expected to maintain high standards of integrity, including:
- careful planning of research protocols to ensure that these effectively address the questions being posed and that the methods of analysis are appropriate;
- rigorous attention to integrity in obtaining, recording and analyzing data and in reporting the results;
- high standards of rigor and integrity in interpreting the results of research;
- rigorous attention to citing the contributions of others (see also the section below on the ownership of intellectual property);
- using unpublished work of others only with permission and due acknowledgment;
- respecting the confidentiality of information gained through the peer review process.
Research
In most graduate programs, the student completes original scholarly research as part of the program. The generation of new knowledge through scholarly research is one of a university's main functions in society. In most cases, the research is reported in a thesis which is presented and defended at the end of the program. In some Master's programs, the research component is more limited in scope and the work constitutes a project or two extended essays, which are presented and examined, either through a formal defence or a review of the written work, at the end of the program. In some other Master's programs, a research component is contained in the course work and there is a final Field Examination based on the areas covered by the coursework.
Students have an obligation to make the results of their research accessible (above and beyond distribution of the thesis) to an appropriate audience through publication. The form of publication will vary according to the discipline and level of the program but may include books, journal articles and conference presentations.
In exceptional circumstances, the results of the research may be withheld temporarily because of pending patents or licences or because of financially sensitive information. In no case may the results be withheld indefinitely. Please see [1.11.3] below and University Policy R10.01, clauses 4.6-4.8.
Financial support for a student's research is usually provided by the student and/or by the Senior Supervisor, through research grants and contracts. The major granting councils - the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering
Research Council (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) - encourage such use of grants received by faculty members under their research grants programs; both the costs of the research itself (e.g. equipment, supplies, travel) and research assistantships for the student may be supported. Faculty members are encouraged to apply to external funding agencies for grants to support their research and the research of students working under their supervision. As noted below under Financial Support, some departments have modest programs of awards to support travel by graduate students to perform research and/or to attend conferences to report on their research.
Ownership of Intellectual Property
The result of research is the generation of new knowledge. The "ownership" of that new knowledge, especially when it is knowledge with commercial implications and/or results in scholarly publications, is a sensitive issue. The question of ownership in the context of the student-supervisor relationship is often complicated by the close collaboration between supervisor(s) and student during the course of the research. It is further complicated by the fact that the University and possibly an outside agency provide resources (e.g. space, library, equipment, supplies) in support of the research.
At Simon Fraser University, unlike many other universities, the person (student, staff or faculty member) who generates patentable new knowledge is the owner of that knowledge; the University makes no claim on it, unless the University is asked to help with the patenting of the idea [see Policy R30.02]. The main federal and provincial agencies which support university research through research grants (NSERC, SSHRC, CIHR and SCBC) also make no claims on the results. On the other hand, copyrightable new knowledge (e.g. books and software) is usually owned jointly by the author and the University; consult Policy R30.01.
Research contracts with government agencies or private companies often stipulate that the rights to commercial exploitation of a discovery belong in full or in part to the sponsoring agency. Because it is University policy that the rights to a patentable discovery belong to the discoverer(s), the University will approve contracts containing such stipulations, as long as they do not restrict the ultimate publication of the results; see also the discussion below of [1.11.3].
The remaining question is the one most likely to cause difficulty: the degrees of "ownership" held by the student and by the supervisor(s) who are involved in the research. There are no University regulations governing this area and research contracts normally do not differentiate among the University researchers as to which of them retain the rights not claimed by the sponsoring agency. It is therefore very important that students and their supervisors reach agreement, in advance, on the principles under which the "ownership" of patent and license rights and the authorship of resultant publications will be decided. Because of the uncertainties intrinsic to research, it is often not possible to agree in advance on the rights to specific discoveries.
There is very wide variation among the disciplines in the style and nature of supervision and in the degree of involvement of the supervisor(s) in the research. Therefore, it is not possible to provide further guidance that would be generally useful; some departments have their own policies in this area and students should consult the graduate program chair.
Publication of Thesis [1.11]
When the thesis is submitted to the library, the student shall authorize the copying and publication of the thesis as follows.
Partial Copyright License [1.11.1]
Except as noted in 1.11.3, the student shall sign a partial copyright license which grants to the University the right to lend the thesis to users of the library, and to make partial or single copies for such users. Multiple copying is not permitted without written permission from the author except that, if the author is unobtainable, the dean of graduate studies may give this permission.
Reproduction [1.11.2]
Except as noted in 1.11.3, the student shall sign an agreement form authorizing the National Library of Canada to reproduce the thesis and to sell microfilm copies on request.
Postponement of Publication [1.11.3]
The results of research conducted at Simon Fraser University should be available freely to the public, and it is expected that theses will be placed in the library immediately following final revisions.