Human Research Ethical Conduct Principles

UWS supports the principles of ethical conduct as articulated in the NHMRC National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (opens in a new window). Those principles include:

Integrity, Respect for Persons, Beneficence and Justice

The guiding value for researchers is integrity.  This is expressed as the commitment to the search for knowledge, to recognise principles of research conduct, the honest and ethical conduct of research, and dissemination and communication of results.

Respect for people is a regard for the welfare, rights, beliefs, perceptions, customs and cultural heritage - both individual and collective - of people participating in research.

The ethical value of justice requires that, within a population, there is a fair distribution of the benefits and burdens of participation in research and, for any research participant, a balance of burdens and benefits.

Guidelines for Ethical Conduct in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Research

Researchers, both staff and students, who are conducting research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants are required to review the Values and Ethics – Guidelines for Ethical Conduct in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Research (opens in a new window). These guidelines were endorsed by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) at its 148th session on 5 June 2003.

Your application to the committee must demonstrate that you have taken into consideration the key components of these guidelines:

  • 2.2.1 Reciprocity
  • 2.2.2 Respect
  • 2.2.3 Equality
  • 2.2.4 Responsibility
  • 2.2.5 Survival and Protection
  • 2.2.6 Spirit and integrity

Consent

It can be easy for researchers to manipulate a layperson's understanding of their rights when giving consent by exploiting their ignorance, fear and respect for experts. When obtaining consent, a researcher must make it very clear to each participant that there are no disadvantages, penalties or adverse consequences for not participating or for withdrawing from the research at any stage.

This is particularly important where the would-be participant is dependent on the researcher (or a close colleague of the researcher) for continued treatment or any other sort of interaction, or if the would-be participant is a student of the researcher.

The consent of a person to participate in research must not be subject to any coercion or to any inducement or influence that could impair the voluntary character of the consent.

Wherever possible, written informed consent of the person is required prior to participation in a research project. In some special cases, it may not be possible to obtain informed consent from the participant as those participating are not competent to offer such consent (ie, because they have an intellectual inability or are young children. In these cases, it is essential to ensure that there are authorities who may speak responsibly on their behalf and to ensure that the informed consent of those authorities is obtained.

Where the design may include 'research treatment' of legally incompetent persons as defined in the NSW Guardianship Act 1987 (AustLII website) (opens in a new window), that Act must be complied with. Where the research involves participants from the health care arena, the principles of the NSW Health Records Information Privacy Act (2002) must be complied with.

Research Merit and Safety

Every research proposal must demonstrate that the research is justifiable in terms of its potential contribution to knowledge, and should be based on a thorough study of current literature as well as prior observation, approved previous studies and where relevant, laboratory and animal studies.

Ethical Review and Conduct of Research

Research projects involving humans must be reviewed by a human research ethics committee and must not be undertaken or funded unless and until approval has been granted. (clause 1.16)

Where personal information about research participants or a collectivity is collected, stored, accessed, used, or disposed of, a researcher must strive to ensure the privacy, confidentiality and cultural sensitivities of the participants and/or the collectivity are respected and the principles of the NSW Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act (1998) are complied with (clause 1.19).

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