The Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC)泭reviews all proposals for research that is conducted within the University or outside the University. The HREC reviews research proposals from all Faculties and research units within the University from:
Please note that it is not possible to grant "retrospective" ethics approval for projects.
Any research or teaching activity in which persons are subjected to experimental procedures or observation or questioning or otherwise used as a source of information or data unless excluded by the scope and exemptions in the Human Research Ethics Committee Policy requires ethical review and approval by the UC HREC.
Please refer to the Human Ethics Policy below for further information.
Mori Consultation
If your research is likely to involve Mori participants or have an impact on tangata whenua including kaupapa Mori, taonga artifacts and species, or access to Mori land, you will need to complete the Mori Consultation process and obtain an acceptance letter in support of your research. You can find further information and application forms for this here.泭
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If your research involves any of the following, you may also require, by law, review by the Ministry of Health administered Health & Disability Ethics Committees (HDEC).
See the泭泭for more information.
A scope of review form should be completed to determine whether or not HDEC review is necessary.
Should you require HDEC review, the 厙ぴ勛圖 requires a finalised copy of your application when it is submitted and when it is approved and reserves the right to ask for changes within the scope of HDECs approval.
For details of each Act see泭.
Social Media and Research Blogs and Forums
[With thanks to Keely Blanch, PhD Candidate from the University of Otago for these suggestions].
One of the key principles of ethical research is that information is used for the purposes for which it is given. Most social media sites are developed to provide a forum for a particular issue, without a research audience in mind.
The following is intended as a guide only to help you consider some of the ethical issues involving researching Blogs, Forums and other Social Media. If you are unsure about anything mentioned here, please contact the HEC Chair or Secretary at泭human-ethics@canterbury.ac.nz泭to discuss your research.
If blogs are public, posts can be seen to be public statements and consent to quote/research them may not be necessary. However, there are still many ethical and practical considerations to bear in mind. Some of these are outlined below.
Essentially, it is important that researchers understand some of the 'unspoken' rules and norms of sites to ethically research and use data, or have someone who does (like the blog owner) to 'interpret'. The researcher could find it useful to contact the blog owner and ask for permission to use posts in their research. If authors have to be approved by the blog owner then they will possibly have communicated guidelines for posting. Forums are different, and will depend on how the site is set up, but again, ideally permission is sought for the data to be used for research. This could be done by posting a statement on the forum board giving an email address (remember to space it out and use 'dot' for ' . ' so the spambots don't pick up the address!) to opt out of having posts considered; and this also gives people a chance to look at their posts with a researcher/non-community member in mind.
Privacy Obligations and Considerations for Research with Human Participants (PDF)
It is the responsibility of the researcher to securely store their research data for the appropriate length of time as stated in their ethics application. The researcher must then ensure that any data is securely destroyed after this period of time has elapsed.
Should it become necessary to transfer hard-copy or video data to electronic format, this should be done in a secure manner and any hard-copy or video data should then be securely destroyed. The electronic format data should then be held for the appropriate length of time as stated in the ethics application and then securely destroyed.
Researchers may choose to give participants a token of appreciation, such as a voucher, for taking part in their research. It is important that any such token is understood as a gift and not as a reimbursement for time, due to the potential tax implications. Researchers still need to hold a register of who has received gift vouchers and this can be kept confidentially by the researcher.
The general procedure for all applications to the HREC (excepting that at the review stage, low-risk applications are seen by a maximum of three committee members and the Chair):
The committee meets several times a year to discuss general ethical issues and applications where necessary.
Please note that, in very special circumstances, expedited review is possible. Please contact the chair in the first instance. The Committee have been receiving an increasing number of requests for expedited review due to applications being submitted late in the research timeline, or due to seemingly unrealistic timeframes being agreed to with external research stakeholders or clients. Please note that this would not typically meet the standards of a very special circumstance. It is the responsibility of the research team to ensure that applications are submitted promptly to ensure that approvals can be received in time for the research to be conducted as planned.
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If you are making any changes to your study, you need to inform the HREC of this and receive approval prior to incorporating the changes. To make an amendment request, please email outlining the changes to your research and the reason(s) for the changes, and attach any updated documents as necessary (e.g., advertisements, Information Sheet, Consent Form, etc.). The Chair will consider your request and if approved, you will receive an amendment approval letter.
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In 2021 the Human Research Ethics Committee revised its application form and processes.
We hope you find the new forms easier to fill out than the old forms.
Please泭email the chair泭if you have suggestions as to how to improve their legibility or flow.
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If your research is likely to involve Mori participants or have an impact on tangata whenua including kaupapa Mori, taonga artifacts and species, or access to Mori land, you will need to complete the Mori Consultation process and obtain an acceptance letter in support of your research. Please start with contacting a Faculty/School Kairahi Mori | Mori advisor. Kairahi will be able to help assess whether to seek further co-design and engagement, and whether to contact the Ngi Tahu Consultation and Engagement Group (NTCEG) for additional guidance. Once it has been determined that you need to complete this process, fill in the form below and send to泭ethicsmaoriconsultation@canterbury.ac.nz泭for processing.
Note: If you are undertaking a student research project for a course worth less than 90 points (e.g., ENVR480) your form will be registered only.泭Registration of a research project will not include receiving feedback on the project from the NTCEG and you will not receive an approval letter. Any courses泭worth 90+ points will need to undergo the full consultation process.
If you would like further advice around the Mori Consultation process, please泭email us.泭
| NOMINATED BY | CURRENT MEMBER |
| One member nominated by the Vice-Chancellor | Dean of Science or nominee: Position Vacant |
| Three members nominated by the Dean of Arts One each from the Department of Psychology, the School of Humanities and the School of Social & Political Sciences | Dr Jacinta Cording (Psychology, Speech and Hearing) (Co-Chair) 1 Position Vacant |
| One member nominated by the Dean of泭Business | Dr Anushia Inthiran (Accounting & Information Systems) |
| One member nominated by the Dean of Education | Dr Patrick Shepherd (School of Teacher Education) |
| One member nominated by the Dean of Engineering | Dr Lui Holder-Pearson (Mechanical Engineering) |
| One member nominated by the Dean of Law | Dr Sascha Mueller (Law) |
| One member elected by the academic staff | Position Vacant |
| Two Laypeople appointed by the committee | Dr Lauretta Muir |
| A representative of the Students' Association | Olivia Welsh |
| Two representatives of the Maori community | One of whom is nominated by the iwi, and the other by the Maori Community within the University. Iwi representative: Dr Lindsey MacDonald (Co-Chair) Maori Community within the University: Dr Phillip Borell |
| Co-opted members | Dr Dean Sutherland (Psychology, Speech, & Hearing)泭 James Bowden (Research and Innovation) Dr Jayson Ware (Faculty of Law) Dr Shweta Sharma (School of Teacher Education) Dr Kris LaVenia (School of Leadership and Professional Practice) |
The committee should elect its own Chairperson and have the power to co-opt.
For all enquiries concerning:
Contact the Co-Chairs, Dr Lindsey MacDonald and Dr Jacinta Cording.
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For all enquiries concerning:
Contact the secretary,泭Rebecca Robinson, +64 3 369 4588 ext: 94588.泭
