School-based and university-based research collaborations are becoming more common because they provide rich sources of data. Classrooms are complex systems and having the multiple perspectives of researchers from different contexts provides a broader and more dynamic view. However, collaborative research also brings with it some ethical issues researchers who have worked alone may not have experienced before. This paper examines problems of collaborative research and conditions for successful research that arose from discussions among university-based researchers. The problem areas that emerged ranged across a variety of epistemological and institutional Issues. These fell within seven large categories: (a) definitions of collaborative research, (b) roles of teachers and researchers, (c) time constraints, (d) expectations of employers, (e) whose voice gets heard, (f) openness and trust, and (g) political and institutional constraints. As with any dilemma, there are no clear solutions to the problems listed above. Explicitly considering the following conditions in response to the problems has, however, led to more satisfying and productive collaborative research relationships and products: (a) recognising that relationships take time, (b) recognising the role of disagreement, (c) discussing all aspects of the research project from the beginning, (d) acknowledging the organic nature of research projects, (e) striving to achieve parity in research relationships, and (f) reaching agreements about reporting the research.

PurposeSystemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARDs) are a group of debilitating autoimmune diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus and related disorders. Assessing the healthcare and economic burden of SARDs has been challenging: while administrative databases can be used to determine healthcare utilisation and costs with minimal selection and recall bias, other health, sociodemographic and economic data have typically been sourced from highly selected, clinic-based cohorts. To address these gaps, we are collecting self-reported survey data from a general population-based cohort of individuals with and without SARDs and linking it to their longitudinal administrative health data.ParticipantsUsing administrative data from the province of British Columbia (BC), Canada, we established a population-based cohort of all BC adults receiving care for SARDs during 1996–2010 (n=20 729) and non-SARD individuals randomly selected from the general population. BC Ministry of Health granted us contact information for 12 000 SARD and non-SARD individuals, who were recruited to complete the surveys by mail or online.Findings to dateFour hundred individuals were initially invited to participate, with 135 (34%) consenting and 127 (94%) submitting the first survey (72% completed online). Sixty-three (49.6%) reported ≥1 SARD diagnosis. The non-SARDs group (n=64) was 92% female with mean age 57.0±11.6 years. The SARDs group (n=63) was 94% female with mean age 56.5±13.1 years. Forty-eight per cent of those with SARDs were current-or-former smokers (mean 10.6±16.2 pack-years), and 33% were overweight or obese (mean body mass index of 24.4±5.3).Future plansHealth and productivity data collected from the surveys will be linked to participants’ administrative health data from the years 1990–2013, allowing us to determine the healthcare and lost productivity costs of SARDs, and assess the impact of patient-reported variables on utilisation, costs, disability and clinical outcomes. Findings will be disseminated through scientific conferences and peer-reviewed journals.

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