Faculty of Science Department of Information Systems

Ethics

All research in the Department involving human subjects requires ethics approval before it can proceed.

The Human Ethics Advisory Group (HEAG) oversees all research projects involving human subjects within the department, and reports to the Humanities and Applied Sciences Human Ethics Sub-Committee.

Members of the HEAG for 2011
Committee Chair: Dr Rachelle Bosua
Secretary: Rhonda Smithies

Dr Atif Ahmad - Deputy Chair
Dr Sonja Pedell - Research Only Staff representative (Semester 1)
John Downs  - Research Student representative (Semester 1)
Konstantinos Kazakos  - Research Student representative (Semester 2)

The HEAG meets once a month from February to November. All applications must be submitted by the deadline (see below) to allow adequate time for the Committee members to review each application before the meeting. In addition to the online submission that must be done via THEMIS (http://themis.unimelb.edu.au) the department requires:

  • an original single-sided signed copy
  • four double-sided photocopies
  • a signed Checklist. (N.B. Also include Checklist and Application Summary on top of each set for Committee Members)
  • an electronic copy of all documents zipped into one file to be emailed to the Secretary (rhondas@unimelb.edu.au) 

N.B. Forms, Samples and Links, i.e. Consent Forms, PLS etc

N.B. For all relevant attachments E.g. Plain Language Statements, Consent Forms, Interview Questions, etc. please use below MS Word version incorporating the University Logo. When formatting, please take care not to distort the size of the University Logo.

University Logo Template

After the meeting, if amendments are required prior to the approval, only one original, single-sided copy, duly signed application needs to be resubmitted by the resubmission due-date shown below.

Meetings will be held on Tuesdays 11am - 12 noon, room 5.07.

Meeting No.

Deadline Date & Time - 5p.m. (Applications)

Committee Meeting

Application Resubmission Date & Time - 5 p.m.

1/11

8 February

15 February

22 February

2/11

 1 March

8 March

15 March

3/11

5 April

12 April

19 April

4/11

3 May

10 May

17 May

5/11

14 June

21 June

28 June

6/11

5 July

12 July
 

19 July
 

7/11

2 August

9 August

16 August
 

8/11

 6 September

13 September

20 September

9/11

4 October

11 October
 

18 October

10/11

1 November

8 November
 

15 November


All applications must come through the HEAG. In about 90% of applications within DIS, the HEAG grants approval. The other 10% are forwarded to the Behavioural and Social Sciences HESC for approval by their deadline.

The HEAG also monitors projects with ethics clearance. Individual researchers must maintain conditions of approval for projects undertaken and are further subject to the University's standards of research integrity.

Please make sure that your application is completed thoroughly before submitting to the HEAG to ensure the eligibility for a review by the Committee. The Committee will reject applications that require proof-reading or are clearly sub-standard. Please ensure that you comply with all the requirements specified in the Checklist. Failure to do so will result in a delay in processing your application of at least five weeks. Supervisors of any student projects are responsible for the ethical conduct of the research and the eligibility of the application submitted.

Important information for all applicants:

To access THEMIS you will need to activate your ITS account from:  http://accounts.unimelb.edu.au

  1. The DIS HEAG maintains a process for handling ethics applications. All staff and student research projects (including those involving Honours and coursework higher degree students) must follow this process.
    • Process Summary (Word doc) 
    • Detailed Approval Process (Word doc) 
    • Amendments:  Please note Amendments follow the same process as above, however only submit 1 original signed copy to the Secretary.
    • Research Projects that require ethics approval from external organisations, please contact the Secretary or Chair directly.
  2. Responsibilities of staff and research students (Word doc) 
  3. Local (DIS) monitoring procedures (Word doc) 
  4. Data storage/retention and destruction procedures (Word doc)
  5. Register of Research Data and records stored in the Department.  Data Register form (Word doc)
 
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