COLLEGE OF EDUCATION GUIDELINES AND EXAMPLES FOR CEDU REC APPLICATIONS 2015 It is extremely important to read through the guidelines before attempting to complete the CEDU REC Application form. Without reading the guidelines the process of Ethical clearance is delayed as many mistakes may be made which could have been avoided. DUE DATES FOR 2015 APPLICATIONS 28 January 25 February 24 June 29 July 25 March 26 August 29 April 27 May 30 September 28 October TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Purpose of guidelines and examples 3 2 Guidelines 3 3 Community Engaged Research 9 4 Examples of letters, consent forms and table of contents for appendices 9 4.1 Example of a letter requesting permission to conduct research 4.2 Example of a letter requesting parental consent for participation of minors in a research project 4.3 10 11 Example of a letter requesting assent from learners in a secondary school to participate in a research project 13 4.4 Example of a letter requesting an adult to participate in an interview 15 4.5 Example of a covering letter for a questionnaire 17 4.6 Example of focus group confidentiality 18 4.7 Example of table of contents for the appendices 19 5 Completing the application 19 1. PURPOSE OF GUIDELINES AND EXAMPLES The aim of this document is to assist you as an applicant when completing the Ethics application form and to speed up the process of obtaining Research Ethical Clearance. Study the guidelines before you start to complete the application form and use the examples to assist you with writing letters requesting permission to conduct research or obtaining consent from adults or assent from learners. The examples are provided for your benefit and may be used in your application but remember to adapt it according to your study. If you feel comfortable developing your own letters, you are in no way limited to using the examples provided in this document. 2. GUIDELINES 2.1 Before completing the application form, study the UNISA POLICY ON RESEARCH ETHICS. It is available at the following link: http://www.unisa.ac.za/cmsys/staff/contents/departments/res_policies/docs/Policy%20on%20Re search%20Ethics%20-%20rev%20appr%20-%20Council%20-%2020.06.2014.pdf 2.2 The UNISA Policy on Research Ethics should be read in conjunction with other relevant UNISA guidelines, policies and relevant legislative frameworks (UNISA Research Policy, UNISA Policy for conducting research involving UNISA staff, students and data, and UNISA Intellectual Property Policy). 2.3 The UNISA Policy on Research Ethics stipulates that ethics clearance may not be granted retrospectively. Retrospectively means with the benefit of hindsight, which implies that you may not start with the research before ethical clearance has been granted. Once you have started the actual research process (not your literature study) it is too late to apply for clearance. All questionnaires, interview schedules, focus group discussions, letters to obtain consent and assent must be ethically cleared before you commence with the research. 2.4 When UNISA staff, students or data form part of your research you also need to obtain permission from the Senate Research Innovation and Higher Degrees Committee (SRIHDC). Please note that permission should be obtained from SRIHDC after ethical clearance has been obtained from the CEDU REC. The clearance certificate should be appended to the SRIHDC application. Applications to SHRIDC need to be submitted through the Office of Research and Graduate Studies College of Education [AJH 6-18] 2.5 Important information to keep in mind: • The application form and supporting documents will enter a pre-approval phase where the research ethics chairperson or secretary will review the application for technical quality and ensure that all sections are complete. If not, it will be returned to the applicant. • Decisions reached by the CEDU REC could be: o Approved o Referred back – requires modification o Referred back – requests further information or clarification o Disapproved with reasons. • Decisions will be communicated within 10 working days of the meeting. • If the application is referred back the applicant should respond to the committee‟s feedback within two months of receiving the formal feedback. A memorandum should accompany the revised application. All amendments should be clearly highlighted in the revised application form and supporting documents. The application will be removed from the CEDU REC agenda if no feedback is received within two months. A new application will then have to be tabled. • The CEDU REC will issue an ethics clearance certificate for use in the final copy of the dissertation or thesis which is submitted for examination. Some journals request a certificate from an REC as proof of obtaining ethical clearance. The REC certificate will be signed by the Executive Dean of the College of Education as well as the Chairperson. 2.6 When you complete the 2015 official application form, remember to: • Ensure that you use the latest template [©2015] Applications made on previous versions of the template cannot be accepted. • Complete all sections of the application form in full. • Indicate “not applicable” or NONE when you are sure that the section does not apply to your application. Do not leave any section open. • Proof of registration (in case of students) must be attached as appendix A. 2.7 Research ethics risk assessment UNISA is currently working towards an on-line submission system to be introduced in the foreseeable future. It will include a risk assessment section which all applicants would need to complete. It is thus important to start using the risk assessment tool when you complete the CEDU REC application form. It will alert you to the ethical concerns which you have to take into consideration or need to address. USE THE RISK ASSESSMENT TOOL BELOW TO INDICATE YOUR RISK CATEGORY IN THE APPLICATION FORM (refer to no 3.3 of the application form). RISK ASSESSMENT TOOL The checklists below have been designed to guide researchers to assess the potential risk of proposed research. There are four risk categories, but due to the type of research which is conducted in the College of Education, the focus will be on Categories 2, 3 and 4 as research often involves vulnerable participants, such as children under the age of 18 years. The categories are displayed in the table below: Risk category Definition Category 1: Negligible risk The probability or magnitude of harm or discomfort anticipated in the research is not greater in itself than that ordinarily experienced in daily life. (The concept of „daily life‟ used as a benchmark should be that of daily life as experienced by the average person in the country the participants are living in). Category 2: Low risk Research involving human participants directly in which the only foreseeable risk is one of inconvenience. Category 3: Medium risk Research in which there is a potential risk of harm or discomfort, but where appropriate steps can be taken to mitigate or reduce overall risk. It is not expected that the research will cause severe risk or negative physical, emotional, social, cultural or political consequences. Category 4: High risk Research in which there is a real and foreseeable risk of harm and discomfort, which may lead to a serious adverse event, if not managed in a responsible manner. If any items on the ethical risk checklist in Tables 2 and 3 are ticked “YES”, the research may be likely to involve medium risk to the participant. The applicant needs to indicate how participants will benefit from the research and describe the steps that will be undertaken to mitigate the risk. High risk: If a number of items on the ethical risk checklist in Tables 1, 2 and 3 are ticked “YES”, the research may be likely to involve significant risk to the participants, researcher(s), institutions or UNISA. The applicant needs to indicate how participants will benefit from the research and describe the steps that will be undertaken to mitigate the risk. Table 1 Does your research include the direct involvement of any of the following groups of participants/research objects? YES NO Place x in box [if yes, provide details in the space allowed for comments] a) Children or young people under the age of 18 b) Persons with a cognitive disability or mental impairment of any kind c) Prisoners or people on parole d) Children who are in custody of the State e) Persons highly dependent on medical care f) Military personnel g) Communities that may be considered as vulnerable h) Persons unable to give consent themselves i) People aged 65 and older j) Unisa employees or students k) Persons not usually considered to be vulnerable but would be considered vulnerable in the context of this research project l) Non-English speaking participants m) Women considered to be vulnerable (pregnancy, victimisation, etc.) n) People living in poverty o) People with little or no education p) Environmental related research q) Other. Please describe. Comments: Table 2 YES Does your research involve any of the following types of activity? NO Place x in box [if yes, provide details in the space allowed for comments] a) Collection, use or disclosure of information WITHOUT the consent of the individual or institution whose information it is, with the exception of aggregated data or data from official databases such as StatsSA, SARS, etc. b) Causing discomfiture to participants beyond normal levels of inconvenience c) Deception of participants, concealment or covert observation d) Examining potentially sensitive or contentious issues e) Seeking disclosure of information which may be prejudicial to participants f) Using intrusive techniques, e.g. audio-visual recordings of participants which may be of a sensitive nature g) Study of or participation in illegal activities that could place individuals and/or groups at risk of criminal or civil liability or be damaging to their financial standing, employability, professional or personal relationships h) Innovative therapy or intervention i) Personal and social information collected directly from participants j) Identifiable information to be collected about people from available records (e.g. medical records, staff records, student records, etc.) k)*Psychology inventories / scales / tests l) Activities which may place the researcher(s) at risk Comments: *Please add details on copyright issues related to standardised psychometric tests and registration at the HPSCA of test administrator if test administration is in South Africa or of an equivalent board if administration is outside South Africa. Table 3 YES DO ANY OF THE FOLLOWING APPLY TO YOUR RESEARCH PROJECT? NO Place x in box [if yes, provide details in the space allowed for comments] a) Reimbursement or incentives to any participants b) The participants will incur financial costs by participating in the study c) At least one of the researchers has a financial or other involvement in the research (apart from their research role) or may receive a reward d) Any other potential conflict of interest for any of the researchers (real or perceived financial or personal considerations that may compromise a researcher‟s professional judgement in carrying out or reporting research, such as conducting research with colleagues, peers or students) e) Research is done on the premises of Unisa or any of its units f) Research will make use of some of Unisa‟s facilities g) Research will be funded by Unisa or funding for it was acquired through Unisa Comments: 2.8 It is suggested that students apply for ethics clearance after the literature review has been completed and the research design is being finalised. It is at this stage that the student will be considering the procedure to negotiate consent to conduct the research and will be designing the research instruments to be used in the research. Primarily these are the documents which must be reviewed and cleared by the Research Ethics Committee (REC). 2.9 All relevant supporting documents (letters requesting permission to conduct the study, consent forms AND the research instruments like interview schedules, questionnaires and observations protocols) must be appended. Ensure that these documents have been language edited. These documents must be in English and the language used for the research (if other than English). As these documents are sent to institutions, schools, teachers and parents, it is of the utmost importance that it is should be of an undisputable quality. 2.10 A checklist of what should be included in an informed consent letter and a child assent form is appended to the CEDU REC application form. Please use the checklists to ensure that you have covered all the important aspects. Make sure that the language used in these letters is comprehensible and age appropriate (specifically assent letters). 2.11 Sign and date the ethics declaration (Section 7). A signature is required, thus if you do not have an electronic signature, submit a scanned copy of the declaration. Once you have signed and dated the application submit it to your supervisor and if he/she is satisfied with the quality of your application, it will be signed by the supervisor and submitted to both the CEDU REC Chairperson: Dr Madaleen Claassens (mcdtc@netactive.co.za) and a copy should also be sent to the secretary, Ms Keba Mothabela (mothakm@unisa.ac.za). 2.12 The application should be a single document only. Separate documents cannot be accepted. To insert a word or pdf document into the application document, please follow these steps: 1. Open the word document i.e. the application. 2. At the top of the word document toolbar click on “insert”. 3. A new toolbar opens. 4. On the right hand side of the toolbar you will see and icon “objects”. 5. Click on this. 6. It provides you with a menu – the first one is “Adobe Acrobat Document” that you can use to insert a “pdf document”. 7. Browse for the document on your computer and click on the file name you want to insert. 8. The pdf file opens into your word document. 9. Click close on the pdf document, and the word document will appear with the pdf inserted 10. If it is another “word document “that you insert, follow the procedures 1 to 5 then select “text from file”. 11. Follow steps 7 and 8. 2.13 Applications will not be accepted from students and no communication between the REC and student will be made unless the student is a member of the REC. 2.14 It is the supervisor‟s responsibility to ensure that the application is complete and meets the requirements. Incomplete applications will be returned without comment. 2.15 It is the supervisor‟s task to support the student in the completion of the application and to check the application before submission. If an application adheres to the requirements as explained in the guidelines and the UNISA Policy on Research Ethics, there is no reason why an application should not be approved during its first submission. 2.16 Please submit applications electronically to the chairperson before or on the last WEDNESDAY of the month for tabling at the following month‟s meeting. Because of the large numbers of submissions received on a monthly basis, late submissions cannot be accepted. 2.17 The ethics clearance certificate must be included in the final copy of the dissertation or thesis which is submitted for examination 2.18 Academics requesting ethics clearance for research follow the same procedures as above, but submit their applications directly to the REC chairperson. 3. COMMUNITY ENGAGED RESEARCH If you are involved with community engaged research it is of the utmost importance to read PART 4 of the UNISA Policy on Research Ethics. Special attention should be given to fair subject selection, favourable risk-benefit ration, informed consent and community involvement in the research. 4. EXAMPLES OF LETTERS AND CONSENT FORMS AND TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR APPENDICES Feedback from the REC shows that many students find it difficult to write letters of consent in meticulous English, which for most of us, is a second or third language. As it is not only the name of the researcher that appears in the letter, but also the name of UNISA, we place a few examples of letters and consent forms in the document to assist students and supervisors. We hope that you will find it beneficial and that it will contribute to streamlining the process. Supervisors are free to use their own examples and styles to guide students. This is just an additional tool to support the students. The following examples can be found in this document: • A letter requesting permission to conduct research • Parental consent for participation of minors in a research project • Learner assent form: secondary school (can be adjusted for primary school learners) • Interview: adult participant consent • Covering letter for a questionnaire • Focus group confidentiality Each example will appear on a new page. 4.1 EXAMPLE OF A LETTER REQUESTING PERMISSION TO CONDUCT RESEARCH Request for permission to conduct research at <insert name of institution> <date> Title: <Exactly as it appears on your CEDU REC application > <insert contact person‟s name> <insert contact person‟s building no. or room no.> <insert contact person‟s Department> <insert contact person‟s telephone number and e-mail address> Dear <insert contact person‟s title and name> I, <insert student researcher or staff researcher‟s name> am doing research with <insert supervisor‟s name>, a <insert supervisor‟s position, e.g. lecturer/senior lecturer/professor, etc.> in the Department of <insert department name> towards a <insert degree title, e.g. D Ed or M Ed.> at the University of South Africa. We have funding from <insert name of Funding Body if applicable> for <insert why you have funding>. We are inviting you to participate in a study entitled <add title exactly as it appears on your CEDU REC Application Form>. The aim of the study is to….. Your institution has/You have been selected because…. The study will entail <describe the nature and procedures briefly>……… The benefits of this study are……….. Potential risks are……….. Feedback procedure will entail………… Yours sincerely <insert signature of researcher> <insert name of the above signatory> <insert above signatory‟s position> 4.2 EXAMPLE OF A LETTER REQUESTING PARENTAL PARTICIPATION OF MINORS IN A RESEARCH PROJECT CONSENT FOR Dear Parent Your <son/daughter/child> is invited to participate in a study entitled <title of study>. I am undertaking this study as part of my <doctoral/master‟s> research at the University of South Africa. The purpose of the study is <…..> and the possible benefits of the study are the improvement of <…>. I am asking permission to include your child in this study because <…> . I expect to have <XXX> other children participating in the study. If you allow your child to participate, I shall request him/her to <delete what is not applicable>: • Take part in a survey • Take part in an interview • Take part in a group interview • Complete a test • Other <in all cases the procedures should be clearly explained in understandable language. Special attention must be given creating and using video recordings>. Any information that is obtained in connection with this study and can be identified with your child will remain confidential and will only be disclosed with your permission. His or her responses will not be linked to his or her name or your name or the school‟s name in any written or verbal report based on this study. Such a report will be used for research purposes only. There are no foreseeable risks to your child by participating in the study <if, however, there are any risks involved in your study, they should be mentioned here>. Your child will receive no direct benefit from participating in the study; however, the possible benefits to education are <indicate benefits>. Neither your child nor you will receive any type of payment for participating in this study. Your child‟s participation in this study is voluntary. Your child may decline to participate or to withdraw from participation at any time. Withdrawal or refusal to participate will not affect him/her in any way. Similarly you can agree to allow your child to be in the study now and change your mind later without any penalty. The study will take place during regular classroom activities <or state when, if at an alternative time> with the prior approval of the school and your child‟s teacher. However, if you do not want your child to participate, an alternative activity will be available. In addition to your permission, your child must agree to participate in the study and you and your child will also be asked to sign the assent form which accompanies this letter. If your child does not wish to participate in the study, he or she will not be included and there will be no penalty. The information gathered from the study and your child‟s participation in the study will be stored securely on a password locked computer in my locked office for five years after the study. Thereafter, records will be erased. If you have questions about this study please ask me or my study supervisor, Prof/Dr <supervisor‟s name>…, Department of <…>, College of Education, University of South Africa. My contact number is <…> and my e-mail is <…>. The e-mail of my supervisor is <…>. Permission for the study has already been given by <…> and the Ethics Committee of the College of Education, UNISA. You are making a decision about allowing your child to participate in this study. Your signature below indicates that you have read the information provided above and have decided to allow him or her to participate in the study. You may keep a copy of this letter. Name of child: Sincerely ______________________________ ________________ Parent/guardian‟s name (print) ________________________________ Parent/guardian‟s signature: Date: _____________________________ ________________________________ ________________ Researcher‟s name (print) Researcher‟s signature Date: 4.3 EXAMPLE OF A LETTER REQUESTING ASSENT FROM LEARNERS IN A SECONDARY SCHOOL TO PARTICIPATE IN A RESEARCH PROJECT This letter can be adjusted for primary school learners. Title of study: .... Dear …. I am doing a study on <…> as part of my studies at the University of South Africa. Your principal has given me permission to do this study in your school. I would like to invite you to be a very special part of my study. I am doing this study so that I can find ways that your …..<teachers, counsellors, coaches, etc.> can use to <……> better. This will help you and many other learners of your age in different schools. This letter is to explain to you what I would like you to do. There may be some words you do not know in this letter. You may ask me or any other adult to explain any of these words that you do not know or understand. You may take a copy of this letter home to think about my invitation and talk to your parents about this before you decide if you want to be in this study. What the child‟s participation entails should be inserted here. This is an example: I would like to show you a video recording of a grade 8 natural science lesson. After you have watched this video, I will ask you to answer a multiple-choice test of eight questions. These questions are all about the lesson you will have watched. I will mark your test afterwards, but your name will not appear on the test or answer sheet and it will not count for any marks at school. I will not share your test results with your teachers or parents. Watching the science lesson and completing the test will take you about 30 minutes. I will write a report on the study but I will not use your name in the report or say anything that will let other people know who you are. You do not have to be part of this study if you don‟t want to take part. If you choose to be in the study, you may stop taking part at any time. You may tell me if you do not wish to answer any of my questions. No one will blame or criticise you. When I am finished with my study, I shall return to your school to give a short talk about some of the helpful and interesting things I found out in my study. I shall invite you to come and listen to my talk. If you decide to be part of my study, you will be asked to sign the form on the next page. If you have any other questions about this study, you can talk to me or you can have your parent or another adult call me at:…………………….. Do not sign the form until you have all your questions answered and understand what I would like you to do. Researcher: ……………. Phone number: ................. Do not sign written assent form if you have any questions. Ask your questions first and ensure that someone answers those questions. ********************************************************************* WRITTEN ASSENT I have read this letter which asks me to be part of a study at my school. I have understood the information about my study and I know what I will be asked to do. I am willing to be in the study. Learner‟s name (print) Witness‟s name (print) Learner‟s signature Witness‟s signature Date: Date: (The witness is over 18 years old and present when signed.) Parent/guardian‟s name (print) Researcher‟s name (print) Parent/guardian‟s signature: Researcher‟s signature: Date: Date: 4.4 EXAMPLE OF A LETTER REQUESTING AN ADULT TO PARTICIPATE IN AN INTERVIEW Dear ……………… This letter is an invitation to consider participating in a study I, <insert your name>, am conducting as part of my research as a <doctoral/master‟s> student entitled <…> at the University of South Africa. Permission for the study has been given by <e.g. Department of Education> and the Ethics Committee of the College of Education, UNISA. I have purposefully identified you as a possible participant because of your valuable experience and expertise related to my research topic. I would like to provide you with more information about this project and what your involvement would entail if you should agree to take part. The importance of <…> in education is substantial and well documented. <Include a general statement re research topic and importance>. In this interview I would like to have your views and opinions on this topic. This information can be used to improve <…>. Your participation in this study is voluntary. It will involve an interview of approximately XXX minutes in length to take place in a mutually agreed upon location at a time convenient to you. You may decline to answer any of the interview questions if you so wish. Furthermore, you may decide to withdraw from this study at any time without any negative consequences. With your kind permission, the interview will be audio-recorded to facilitate collection of accurate information and later transcribed for analysis. Shortly after the transcription has been completed, I will send you a copy of the transcript to give you an opportunity to confirm the accuracy of our conversation and to add or to clarify any points. All information you provide is considered completely confidential. Your name will not appear in any publication resulting from this study and any identifying information will be omitted from the report. However, with your permission, anonymous quotations may be used. Data collected during this study will be retained on a password protected computer for 12 months in my locked office. There are no known or anticipated risks to you as a participant in this study. If you have any questions regarding this study, or would like additional information to assist you in reaching a decision about participation, please contact me at <…> or by e-mail at <…>. I look forward to speaking with you very much and thank you in advance for your assistance in this project. If you accept my invitation to participate, I will request you to sign the consent form which follows on <page 2/the next page>. Yours sincerely ……………………… **************************************************************** CONSENT FORM I have read the information presented in the information letter about the study <…> in education. I have had the opportunity to ask any questions related to this study, to receive satisfactory answers to my questions, and add any additional details I wanted. I am aware that I have the option of allowing my interview to be audio recorded to ensure an accurate recording of my responses. I am also aware that excerpts from the interview may be included in publications to come from this research, with the understanding that the quotations will be anonymous. I was informed that I may withdraw my consent at any time without penalty by advising the researcher. With full knowledge of all foregoing, I agree, of my own free will, to participate in this study. Participant‟s Name (Please print): Participant Signature: Researcher Name: (Please print) Researcher Signature: Date: 4.5 EXAMPLE OF A COVERING LETTER FOR A QUESTIONNAIRE Title of questionnaire: Dear respondent This questionnaire forms part of my <doctoral/master‟s> research entitled: <add title exactly as it appears on your CEDU REC Application Form> for the degree of <M Ed/D Ed> at the University of South Africa. You have been selected by a <XXX> sampling strategy from the population of <…>. Hence, I invite you to take part in this survey. The aim of this study is to investigate <…>. The findings of the study will benefit <…>. You are kindly requested to complete this survey questionnaire, comprising < indicate how many > sections as honestly and frankly as possible and according to your personal views and experience. No foreseeable risks are associated with the completion of the questionnaire which is for research purposes only. The questionnaire will take approximately <indicate how many> minutes to complete. You are not required to indicate your name or organisation and your anonymity will be ensured; however, indication of your age, gender, occupation position etcetera. will contribute to a more comprehensive analysis. All information obtained from this questionnaire will be used for research purposes only and will remain confidential. Your participation in this survey is voluntary and you have the right to omit any question if so desired, or to withdraw from answering this survey without penalty at any stage. After the completion of the study, an electronic summary of the findings of the research will be made available to you on request. Permission to undertake this survey has been granted by the <indicate the institution> and the Ethics Committee of the College of Education, UNISA. If you have any research-related enquiries, they can be addressed directly to me or my supervisor. My contact details are: <…>, e-mail: <…> and my supervisor can be reached at <…>, Department of <…>, College of Education, UNISA, e-mail: <…>. By completing the questionnaire, you imply that you have agreed to participate in this research. Please return the completed questionnaire to <…> before <…>. 4.6 EXAMPLE OF FOUCUS GROUP/INTERVIEW ASSENT AND CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT I_________________________________________________ grant consent/assent that the information I share during the group discussions (focus group interviews) may be used by the researcher, [name of researcher], for research purposes. I am aware that the group discussions will be digitally recorded and grant consent/assent for these recordings, provided that my privacy will be protected. I undertake not to divulge any information that is shared in the group discussions to any person outside the group in order to maintain confidentiality. Participant„s Name (Please print): Participant Signature: Researcher‟s Name: (Please print): Researcher‟s Signature: Date: 4.7 CONTENT IT IS ADJUSTED ACCORDING TO YOUR OWN STUDY DEPENDING WHO YOU NEED TO ASK FOR PERMISSION AND WHAT IS FURTHER INCLUDED IN INTERVIEW GUIDES / QUESTIONNAIRES (SEE APPLICATIONFORM SECTION 5.2) APPENDIX A Proof of registration – student name APPENDIX B Application Department of Education: Mpumalanga APPENDIX C Permission Letter Department of Education: Mpumalanga APPENDIX D Letter to Principal APPENDIX E Letter to Head of Department APPENDIX F Letter to Educators APPENDIX G Etc APPENDIX H Etc. 5 COMPLETING THE APPLICATION You are now ready to start completing the application form!