As a result of participation, participants did receive other personal benefits. In the focus groups, they had an opportunity to share experiences and knowledge with others. Through the sharing of personal stories and the stories of others, participants increased their understanding of their organization and their job.
Royal Roads University’s (2004) Research Ethics Policy referred the ethical researcher to the Tri-Council Policy Statement (Canadian Institute of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada [Tri-Council], 1998), and according to the Tri-Council Policy Statement, assurances that one’s research methods are ethical is required when information is collected from living humans. Section Six of this policy, “Research Involving Aboriginal Peoples”
(p. 6.1) was devoted to presenting best-practice research when working with Aboriginal participants. This policy stated, “These guidelines do not replace ethical standards for the conduct of research on individuals; they seek to suggest additional requirements to ensure that the rights and interests of the community as a whole are respected”
(p. 6.1). While this project was not a study of Aboriginal people, the majority of participants were Aboriginal people, and it was essential to ensure that the Aboriginal community supported this project. Fifty percent of the participants lived and worked on Aboriginal reserves, and the participating First Nations Employer Organizations were accountable to their respective Chief and Council leaders. A Letter of Invitation to the Cree Nation partners in this research (see Appendix G) ensured that the community was notified of this research and given a copy of the summary results.