Does my Study require Ethical Approval?

Guidelines to Determine whether Application for Ethical Approval is Required

Researchers of studies making use of human participants are advised to assess the risk of their study using the following Risk Assessment Guide so as to ascertain whether or not an ethics application is required to be completed and submitted. 

The risk assessment assumes that the researcher is familiar with the document Department of Health Research Ethics Guidelines (2015).  This document provides the minimum national benchmark of norms and standards for conducting responsible and ethical research that uses human participants.
 

1. Download a copy of the risk assessment form template.  The form is intended to be comprehensive in order to assist with inclusive responses with a view to accurately estimate the risk of the study and thereby guide on the requirement for an ethics application or not.
    
2. Commence with completing the items on the form.  As soon as at least one check is made in any of the 3 rightmost columns, an application for ethical review and approval is required.  It is then not required to complete any further items on the risk assessment form (a comprehensive risk assessment will be required as part of the application process).  For audio-visual assistance to complete this task, view this video (Duration: 4:44)