Ethical Standards for Conducting Research at Unitec Guidelines and Information for research at Unitec Prepared by Unitec Research Ethics Committee (UREC)

Ethical Standards for Conducting Research

at Unitec

Guidelines and Information for research at Unitec

Prepared by Unitec Research Ethics Committee (UREC)

© Unitec New Zealand

1

© Unitec New Zealand2

Why conduct ethically-sound research?

• Moral obligation

• Credibility

• Legal requirements

• Consequences

With ethics approval:– secure legal position (researcher and Unitec indemnified)– ACC & professional coverage– Completion of dissertation / thesis

Without ethics approval:– researcher, supervisor or even Unitec accepts legal liability– professional misconduct– inability to publish (not always)– failure to meet dissertation/thesis requirements


Ethical considerations apply when…

Humans (or animals) are used as participants in projects involving:

•questionnaires, interviews, focus groups

•clinical trials (medical intervention)

•some observational studies

•bodily tissues and fluids are collected

•treatments or exercises applied

•genetic modification

•use of personal, non-public information

•using property/material which is culturally, historically or spiritually significant

•depiction of people in creative works


What UREC do...

1. Our MAIN ROLE is to protect the research participants

2. PRIOR APPROVAL must be SOUGHT and GAINED before research can commence

3. We consider ALL aspects of the research

Note: it is possible to make changes to approved applications but the researcher must apply to UREC to have the amendment approved. An amendment judged to be significant by UREC may require a new application


What are the principles of ethically sound research?

• informed and voluntary consent

• doesn’t breach privacy

• minimisation of physical and emotional harm

• cultural and social sensitivity

• limitation of deception

• respects intellectual and cultural property ownership

• avoids conflicts of interest

• adequate research design to meet objectives


Informed Consent

• Informed consent and ability to withdraw involvement/data

• Special concern for:• Children as participants – parental & child consent? (Note

that there is no set age of consent – depends on child’s ability to give informed consent)

• Participants in relationship with researcher where researcher can exercise power over the participant e.g. teacher-student, doctor-patient, principal-teacher

• Other vulnerable subjects

Anonymity & confidentiality

• Anonymity & confidentiality– What is collected? – Who else has access to data or personal information?– Where is the information stored?– Note: provisions of the Privacy Act 1993 and any associated

codes e.g. The Health Information Privacy Code

Anonymity is when no information is collected about the person’s ID

Confidentiality is when it is known but remains unrevealed



Specific but common ethical issues (1)

• Cultural awareness– Maori involvement– Intellectual and cultural property– Research involving participants of a specific ethnic group– Dealing (personally and collectively) with other cultures

• Sample size

• Recruiting participants (bias)

• Sensitive questionse.g. Have you ever broken the law?

Are you using drugs?

What is your sexual orientation?


Specific but common ethical issues (2)

• Conflict of interest

eg. Sponsoring agency influences outcome

Researcher benefits from a particular outcomeNote: may be closely associated with bias in research design or

process.

• Starting before approval is granted

• Intellectual property violation

What then is the PROCESS for seeking approval?



Forms

• Forms, support documents and templates for staff are found on the Unitec Intranet. For researchers these are on the Postgraduate & Student Resources Moodle site and the UREC Moodle site for external member reference

• Ensure that applicants are completing the current form

• Form A vs Form B (vs Form C)

– Form B is for non-contentious anonymous surveys - read by 1 reader.

– Form A is for all other applications - read by 3 readers.– Form C is a blanket approval for a paper with a research component

• Applicants are Unitec staff, undergraduate and postgraduate students

What should be included?

• Application form

• Information sheet – with sufficient information provided to allow for informed consent

• Consent form (not required for anonymous survey as consent given by completion of survey)

• Questionnaire, Interview material

• Organisational consent to recruit and/or research within the organisation if researcher is recruiting and/or carrying out research at a particular organisation (e.g. company, school, hospital, etc) good template available for use in this situation

• Any other supporting documentation



Process

• Principal researcher (applicant)– applies for ethical approval (students should do this with

supervisor)

• Supervisor (for student research)– guides and informs student researcher– signs application

• Head of Department– signs application

• Completed forms submitted to research office by required date.

• UREC ( Unitec Research Ethics Committee)– evaluates ethics applications and informs applicant of decision

Process Form A - Readers

• Research office allocates readers to applications by email about 10 days ahead of each UREC meeting

• Form A has 1 primary reader, 2 secondary readers

• Secondary readers try to respond to primary reader within 2 days, where possible. A carefully prepared application will facilitate this process

• Primary reader compiles comments from all readers and emails the researcher with avaialable information AND advice that more comments might be coming

• Researcher makes required/requested amendments, sends back to primary reader

• The WHOLE committee then considers the application and changes

© Unitec New Zealandinitially 14

Process From B - Readers

• Form B has one reader.

– Is normally fairly straight forward and can be approved quickly

– Often noted at meeting with little discussion unless any issues have arisen


Readers contacting researchers

• Readers undertake to:– Be polite, summarise comments in a logical order– provide a contact phone number where appropriate recognising

that discussing the application is normally much faster than emailing

– In extreme cases may choose to meet with the researcher (easier for internal members)

• Notes:– Often, all that is needed is more explanation or detail from the

researcher– With students, the researcher will ensure that the supervisor is

involved in all communication (CC emails etc)


At the UREC meeting

• The committee members work through the applications– Give brief summary– Ask for discussion– Make a recommendation

• Possible Recommendations:– Approve - all okay, research can start– To be ratified (TBR) - if only minor changes required, committee

gives delegated authority to the primary reader to approve between meetings, researcher can start, then committee ratifies the decision at the next meeting

– On hold - large changes to be made. Re-reviewed at next meeting– Decline


What readers & UREC look for

• Ethical issues– Following the principles previously discussed

• Procedural issues– All forms completed and submitted, Unitec logo, standard ethics

statement on info and consent form, organisational consent

• Other– Study design* (on an ethical basis), spelling, communication etc.

* We are not trying to tell researchers how to conduct their study, but wasting participant time (or worse) with poor research is part of our mandate.


Documents

Ethical Standards for Conducting Research at Unitec Guidelines and Information for research at Unitec Prepared by Unitec Research Ethics Committee (UREC)