Teaching and Learning Research

• Teaching and learning research
• Accessing UWS student records
• Conducting research in NSW state schools

Teaching and learning research

All learning and teaching research involving human participants for publication, including use of university students or their records, conducted at or by UWS staff or students must undergo ethical review before the project commences. If you are only conducting quality assurance activity and not publishing the outcomes of the research you will not need ethical review. If you are publishing on the outcomes of the research, you must seek ethical review.

Research that is replicated annually or involves a coherent program with a suite of closely related studies over an extended period of time may be eligible for 5 year HREC approval, obviating the need for iterative applications - see guidelines on applying for program of research ethics approval (PDF, 25Kb).

Guidelines on research learning and teaching projects (Word, 204Kb) and non-research learning and teaching projects, provide advice on whether these projects require ethics approval.

Accessing UWS student records

If you intend to use UWS student records for your research please note the following information and process.

Student records are protected under Privacy Legislation and their use must conform to  NSW Privacy Legislation (Word, 75Kb)

All use of student results or other information that forms part of the student’s record requires:

• a full ethics protocol
• approval from the Academic Registrar to access and use the data

Please seek in principle approval from the Academic Registrar prior to applying for ethical review.

With in principle approval in place, please commence the normal ethics application process. 

An ethics approval protocol number will be required by the Academic Registrar before access to the student records will be available.

Flow chart of this process (PDF, 56Kb).

All student records must be de-identified by someone other than the researcher prior to release to the researcher.

Note: UWS SFU and SFT surveys advise students that if they submit the survey they are consenting to the data being used for research purposes, therefore, ethical review is not required.

Conducting research in NSW state schools

The New South Wales Department of Education and Communities (DEC) compels UWS to endorse the quality of research projects and their compliance with the National Statement of Human Ethics before the department issues permission for the research to proceed in the school. For full details refer to the SERAP web page on how to obtain approval to conduct research in a DEC school.

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