Online Human Research Ethics Application and Review System
As part of meeting the requirements of the revised National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research 2007, UniSA is developing an online Human Research Ethics Application and Review System, designed to speed up and simplify the process of receiving ethics clearance for research projects.
All staff and students who wish to undertake a research project involving humans (including direct collection of data, accessing data from databases and/or collection of human tissues/samples etc) must apply for ethics approval from the University of South Australia's Human Research Ethics Committee using the Online Human Research Ethics Application and Review System (the Ethics System) from January 2010.
- Training in using the Ethics System
- Ethics System processes
- Workflow stages of an ethics application
- Useful references
Training in using the Ethics System
University wide training sessions on the Ethics System will start in November 2009. All staff and students requiring human ethics approval for their research are encouraged to attend.
Sessions will be run in two streams:
1. Auditorium sessions
Auditorium sessions will provide background information and show an overview of the system. The auditorium sessions will be run at the four metropolitan campuses between the 17 and 27 November 2009. A videorecording of a session will be available online for those who cannot attend the available times, or who are based outside the metropolitan area.
|
# |
Training day |
Time |
Campus |
Room |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Tues 17 November |
9:30-11:30 |
City East |
H2-02 |
|
2 |
Fri 20 November |
2:30-4:30 |
City West |
HH5-08 |
|
3 |
Tues 24 November |
2:30-4:30 |
Magill |
H1-44 |
|
4 |
Fri 27 November |
2:00-4:00 |
Mawson Lakes |
MC1-02 |
2. Computer training sessions
Hands on computer training sessions will be run every two weeks at each metropolitan campus from December 2009 to February 2010. Numbers are limited and therefore you must register your interest by contacting Alice Granger (alice.granger@unisa.edu.au).
Training times City East campus
|
# |
Day |
Time |
Campus |
Room |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Wed 2 December |
10-12 |
City East |
P3-21 |
|
2 |
Mon 14 December |
2-4 |
City East |
P3-21 |
|
3 |
Fri 8 January |
2-4 |
City East |
TBC |
|
4 |
Tues 19 January |
10-12 |
City East |
TBC |
|
5 |
Thurs 4 February |
2-4 |
City East |
TBC |
|
6 |
Fri 19 February |
10-12 |
City East |
TBC |
Training times City West campus
|
# |
Day |
Time |
Campus |
Room |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Fri 4 December |
9:30-11:30 |
City West |
TBC |
|
2 |
Wed 16 December |
2-4 |
City West |
GK3-28 |
|
3 |
Tues 12 January |
10-12 |
City West |
TBC |
|
4 |
Wed 27 January |
2-4 |
City West |
TBC |
|
5 |
Mon 8 February |
10-12 |
City West |
TBC |
|
6 |
Thurs 25 February |
10-12 |
City West |
TBC |
Training times Mawson Lakes campus
|
# |
Day |
Time |
Campus |
Room |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Tues 8 December |
2-4 |
Mawson Lakes |
GP1-02 |
|
2 |
Fri 18 December |
10-12 |
Mawson Lakes |
GP1-02 |
|
3 |
Wed 13 January |
2-4 |
Mawson Lakes |
TBC |
|
4 |
Fri 29 January |
2-4 |
Mawson Lakes |
TBC |
|
5 |
Thurs 11 February |
10-12 |
Mawson Lakes |
TBC |
|
6 |
Mon 22 February |
10-12 |
Mawson Lakes |
TBC |
Training times Magill campus
|
# |
Day |
Time |
Campus |
Room |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Thurs 10 December |
10-12 |
Magill |
C1-82 |
|
2 |
Thurs 7 January |
2-4 |
Magill |
C1-82 |
|
3 |
Mon 18 January |
2-4 |
Magill |
C1-82 |
|
4 |
Tues 2 February |
10-12 |
Magill |
C1-82 |
|
5 |
Wed 17 February |
10-12 |
Magill |
C1-82 |
|
6 |
Fri 26 February |
2-4 |
Magill |
C1-82 |
Ethics System processes
The Ethics System allows researchers to complete and submit human research ethics applications electronically. Upon submission, the Ethics System assesses the risk associated with the project (based on the requirements of the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research, legislation, relevant codes and guidelines and University compliance requirements).
There are five risk assessment outcomes, described in Table 1 below.
Table 1:
The interaction between risk level, risk
assessment and committee review group
|
Risk Level |
Risk assessment |
Committee Review Group |
|---|---|---|
|
Exempt |
The system has determined that the research is exempt from further review as the project involves the use of archived data only and the data collected is de-identified (ie does not contain personally identifiable information) and will not be reported beyond the University |
Further review not required. |
|
Negligible |
The system has determined that the research does not require further review as the project is either:
|
Further review not required. |
| E1 |
Research projects in which there is no foreseeable risk of harm or discomfort, and any foreseeable risk is no more than inconvenience |
The Chair or Deputy Chair of HREC (E1 Review Group) |
| E2 |
Research projects in which the only foreseeable risk is one of discomfort |
A panel comprising the Chair or Deputy Chair of HREC, the Applicants Research Ethics Advisor and 2 HREC members. (E2 Review Group) |
| E3 |
All other research projects are more than low risk |
The full HREC committee (E3 Review Group) |
Workflow stages of an ethics application
For applications that require E1/E2/E3 review (see Table 1 above), the Ethics System forwards the completed application to the required committee review group for review (after initial assessment by the Principal Supervisor (for student applicants) or the Ethics and Compliance Officer - see Figure 1).
The committee review group reviews the application online and enters their decision. The Ethics System notifies the applicant of the review outcome via email.
Figure 1: Workflow stages of an ethics application
Useful references
Researchers must be familiar with both the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (2007), the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research (PDF 508kb, download Adobe Acrobat), related legislation, guidelines and codes, and University policies and procedures as outlined in the University of South Australia Framework for the Responsible Conduct of Research (coming soon).
Refer also to the Human research ethics website
For further details please contact Alice Granger (alice.granger@unisa.edu.au) or Vicki Allen (vicki.allen@unisa.edu.au).