ETHICS IN RESEARCH

Any research conducted in the Faculty of Commerce that makes use of data regarding human subjects (see below for information on research using only secondary data) requires approval, or formal exemption from approval, from the Faculty Ethics in Research Committee (EiRC), where such approval is typically granted for a (renewable) year.

University policies on research integrity are linked below. Any Faculty-specific advice, guidelines, or policy are subservient to University policy in cases of apparent contradiction or ambiguity.

PRE-SCREENING QUESTIONNAIRE and eRAOnline APPLICATIONS

Please note that all applications have been migrated to the eRAOnline platform, and links to Submittable have been removed. The eRA platform is already available for submitting either a pre-screening questionnaire (PSQ), a full application, or both, with details available on the Ethics in Research website.

APPLICATIONS ON eRA

UCT’s electronic research administration (eRA) system links:

• eRA login
• For guidance and eRA system-related support, see here, or log a call

SECONDARY DATA

Research involving only the use of secondary data - as defined by the practice note on the Ethics in Research website - does not require completion of either of the pre-screening questionnaire (PSQ) or completion of an application for ethical clearance.

While neither the PSQ nor an application are required for research involving only analysis of secondary data, researchers are nevertheless encouraged to a) complete the PSQ for reassurance that there are no ethical complications in their research; and b) to complete an application for ethical clearance in order to receive certification and a reference number, in case funders, publishers, or any other legitimately interested party requires this.

Note: Data obtained from other researchers or supervisors, where identifying data on participants are available (or could easily become available) are not considered to be secondary data, and researchers would have to seek ethics approval for research involving such data.

RETROSPECTIVE CLEARANCE

The Commerce Ethics in Research Committee does not grant retrospective approvals for research where data collection has already been initiated. Any such projects will only be approved on the condition that data collected prior to approval are discarded.

RESEARCH WITHIN THE HEALTH SECTOR

The Commerce Ethics in Research Committee is not legally permitted to approve applications covered by the Health Act of South Africa, which includes any research that contributes to knowledge of:

(a) the biological, clinical, psychological or social processes in human beings;
        (b) improved methods for the provision of health services;
        (c) human pathology;
        (d) causes of disease;
        (e) the effects of the environment on the human body;
        (f) the development or new application of pharmaceuticals, medicines and
        (g) the development of new applications of health technology;

Any research that meets the criteria listed above will be rejected by the Commerce committee, and must be submitted to the Health Sciences Human Research Ethics Committee.

USING STAFF OR STUDENTS AS RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS

Research involving staff or students as participants needs to be approved by both a UCT EiRC, as well as by Human Resources (for staff) and/or by the Student Affairs (for students). Once you have approval from a UCT EiRC, that approval would accompany your application to access staff and students as described on this webpage. The Commerce EiRC has no involvement in the process of granting any such permissions.

EXTERNAL RESEARCHERS

Applications from researchers who are not part of the UCT community – including international researchers, NGOs or other organisations – will typically not be considered unless UCT staff or students are also involved in designing and/or conducting the research.

Policies and Resources

• UCT Guideline for Risk-Based Ethical Review of Research (Human Participants)
• Policy for the Responsible Conduct of Research
• Accessing UCT staff or students as a research population
• Policy documents on matters including research misconduct, safeguarding, conflicts of interest, and authorship are available on the Research Support Hub

The SuccessFactors learning platform offers a course on ethics in research (search for “research integrity” once logged-in). Completion of the course is required for ethics reviewers, and will also be useful to most researchers.