Code of Conduct

In addition to Western University's non-discrimination/harassment/sexual misconduct policy (policy 1.35), WEST Lab are proud to our lab policy by which all of our members are committed to upholding. Joining our lab means that you commit to act and interact in ways that contribute positively towards creating an open, welcoming, diverse, inclusive and healthy research community. Readers are asked to please refer to the linked policy above for the important definitions.

General professionalism

1. Treat each other respectfully

   1. • Demonstrate empathy and kindness toward other people

      • Be respectful of differing opinions, viewpoints, and experiences

2. Respect everybody’s time

   1. • Arrange meetings in advance if/when required

      • Be punctual to pre-arranged meetings

      • Show up prepared for lab work/office work/meetings

3. Ensure that you keep both your workspace and communal spaces (lab, offices) clean and organized

4. Keep the environment positive as much as possible

5. Accept responsibility for mistakes that arise and take action to correct them

6. Ask for permission before sharing any words, thoughts, or resources that other lab members have shared or provided through email, slack, conferences, etc.

7. Be mindful of other people’s personal boundaries

8. Make sure to coordinate schedules and shared bench space with other lab members before starting work in the lab

9. As email or text-based communication can be misinterpreted (due to the lack of facial expression, or voice intonation), please ensure that communications are clearly kind and respectful.

10. Respond to professional emails within a reasonable time frame (usually <24 hours)

11. Have reasonable expectations regarding the completion of a task (lab, data analysis or written work) and establish realistic deadlines together

12. Keep the group updated on your research progress and the projects that you’re working on

13. Ensure all data generated (lab notebooks, data files, code, manuscripts) are neat (legible for lab notebooks), organized, and properly backed up

14. Of course, you are here to advance yourself as an individual, but this should not be done at the expense of the overall community

Learning is a Priority

1. Be kind and respectful of one-another. For instance, we give and receive a lot of feedback as a group, so ensure 1) that feedback given is constructive and project-focused, and 2) that feedback received is valued (e.g., say thank you!), not taken personally, and incorporated towards improving the talk, paper, etc.

2. Respect everyone’s time - give people enough time and advanced notice for feedback, or help on something

3. All research is equally valuable and important

4. Take initiative on your project and as a member of the team, e.g., fix problems that you see in the lab, stay on top of your project and the literature, apply for scholarships and other opportunities, sign up and participate in group meetings

5. Be generous; science is collaborative, that means helping others and receiving help. Senior lab members should assist junior members, and eventually junior members will become the senior members and pass on their knowledge and experience

Inclusivity

1. 1. Actively include and engage all lab members in discussion (lab meetings, social events, etc)

   2. Be mindful of how much each person is participating and being heard - “take space, make space” ​

   3. Community Support​

      • Remember that all team members are people before we’re researchers. Always strive to be empathetic and supportive, and be respectful of:

        • • Privacy if someone chooses not to disclose things about their personal life

          • Confidentiality if someone shares something personal

          • Boundaries with respect to physical + mental health, family obligations, religious practice, etc.

          • The ways that people may be personally affected by global events and politics​

   4. Welcoming and Inclusive Language​

      • In our lab, we work hard to treat everyone with equal respect regardless of their gender, age, race, sexual orientation, religion, culture, (dis)ability, academic record, or personal background.

      • Welcome and support people of all backgrounds and identities into our group

      • Refer to each other with the individual’s correct pronouns

      • Foster a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment

      • Not engage in homophobic, racist, transphobic, ageist, sexist or otherwise exclusionary language or behaviour

      • Show kindness, patience, and treat everyone in a dignified manner

      • Any descrimination or harassment will not be tolerated.

   5. We are committed to continually educating ourselves on issues of systemic oppression and we will aim to:

      • Regularly discuss issues of justice (particularly as they relate to science) as a group

      • Engage actively in movements for justice and inclusivity in science (on the scale of the lab/department/campus to global efforts)

      • Commit to being allies by working towards addressing behaviors or comments that may be harmful to others

      • Assume good intentions unless proven otherwise

      • We will take initiative to address issues to those who might be targeted

      • Listen to each other and learn from the experiences of others

      • Actively engage in anti-racist practices and support diversity

      • Promote social awareness and recognize the existence of unconscious bias towards underrepresented groups

All misconduct reports will be taken seriously, and will be reported to Western University authorities.

If you have any issues with any of the content presented in this online Code of Conduct, please reach out to us directly.