Because the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) constitutes a relatively small and identifiable population, researchers must exercise particular caution when collecting demographic information from cadets. Consistent with the principles of Respect for Persons, Concern for Welfare, and Justice outlined in the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS 2), the collection of demographic variables shall be limited to those that are scientifically, theoretically, or operationally necessary to address the stated research objectives.
Researchers must justify the inclusion of each demographic variable in their ethics application. Demographic information should not be collected solely for exploratory purposes, convenience, routine practice, or possible future analyses.
Researchers shall consider the risk that combinations of demographic variables may permit the identification or re-identification of participants, even when names and other direct identifiers are not collected. Particular attention should be paid to demographic characteristics that may represent small numbers of individuals within the cadet population, including, but not limited to, gender diversity, racialized identity, Indigenous identity, military occupation, academic program, year of study, or other characteristics that may create uniquely identifiable participant profiles when combined.
Where demographic groups are expected to contain insufficient numbers of participants for meaningful statistical analysis or reporting, researchers should carefully consider whether collection of such information is ethically justified. The collection of demographic data that cannot reasonably contribute to the stated research objectives may unnecessarily increase privacy risks while imposing additional burdens on participants.
Researchers must also consider whether the collection, analysis, or reporting of demographic information could inadvertently reveal the identity of individual participants or small groups. Where such risks exist, researchers shall implement appropriate safeguards, including aggregation of categories, suppression of small cell counts, restriction of reporting, or exclusion of demographic variables from data collection.
The REB may require researchers to reduce, modify, aggregate, or eliminate demographic questions when the potential risks to participant privacy and confidentiality outweigh the scientific value of the information collected.
Consistent with the TCPS 2 principle of Concern for Welfare and the expectation that researchers collect only information necessary to answer the research question, demographic information should be collected only when it is required to fulfill the scientific objectives of the study and when the value of the information justifies the associated risks to privacy, confidentiality, and participant welfare.