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Sultan Qaboos University
The Language Centre
Professional Development & Research Unit
Research Ethics Form
It is important for individuals intending to do research to be aware of the ethical issues that may arise in the
conduct of research. This form is useful as awareness-raising and record-keeping, both of which are crucial
elements in the research process. The form must be completed for every piece of research by LC faculty or nonLC researchers, who would like to conduct part or all of their data collection at the LC, and who may not have
received ethical clearance from an institution’s review board. Even with the provision of some form of
clearance, the LC Research Committee and/or the Chair may still require this form to be completed if it is
deemed necessary to do so.
If you are planning on doing research, you need to do the following:
1). Arrange a meeting with a fellow researcher: The purpose of the meeting is to discuss any ethical issues
that may arise on the conduct of research. You need to meet with a fellow researcher with relevant experience.
The ethical aspects that may arise in research are listed below to give you prompts to organize your meeting
with the discussant and to record the ensuing discussions and the decisions made. Please note that not all of
these may apply to your proposed research.
2). Complete Section 1 (pages 1 & 2) of this form. Here, you need to record the discussion which you have
had with the discussant, and the decisions which you have made.
3). Send a copy of the completed form to the Chair of the Language Centre Research Committee at
faisalf@squ.edu.om. You should also keep a copy for yourself. The form shall be referred to the LCRC before
permission can be granted to carry out the research. Other required documentation to go with this form is the
following:
(a). a research proposal (Guidelines on how to draft a research proposal are available in the Research Committee
section of the LC website),
(b). any instrumentation associated with this proposal, and
(c). any other supportive documents.
These forms are stored, and may be used after removing the names of the researcher(s), the discussant(s) and
any other specified individuals to identify training needs.
Prompts for discussion
1. Participant recruitment
2. Information given to participants
3. Participant right of withdrawal
4. Informed consent
5. Anonymity/confidentiality
6. Data collection
7. Data analysis
8. Data storage
9. Reporting of research
It is important to note that ethical issues continue throughout the research process. Therefore, it is essential to go
over the same cycle and update decisions accordingly when changes occur to the original research design.
Last updated on 29 May 2016
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Sultan Qaboos University
The Language Centre
Professional Development & Research Unit
Research Ethics Form
Section 1 [To be completed by the researcher seeking ethical clearance]
Researcher name(s):
Proposed research area:
Discussant:
Date of discussion:
Date submitted to LC
Research Committee
A. Discussion of Ethical Issues and Decisions Made
Brief overview of study
Participant recruitment
Information given to participants
Participant right of withdrawal
Informed consent
Anonymity/confidentiality
Data collection
Data analysis
Data storage
Reporting of research
Last updated on 29 May 2016
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B. Any Difficulties Anticipated
Acknowledgements
Section 2 [To be completed by the LC Research Committee/Chair: further guiding advice, if any]
Last updated on 29 May 2016