The Department of Communications and New Media (CNM) Department Ethics Review Committee (DERC) was established in 2009 following the NUS IRB's directives and the FASS Ethics Guidelines for Research with Human Subjects (2006).

The objectives of the DERC are:

1. to assess the level of risk to human subjects in research projects of the Department's academic staff members and students, and;
2. to make recommendations on the appropriate type of ethics review for each research project

CNM DERC reviews applications according to the guidelines provided by NUS-IRB. Click here to NUS-IRB DERC guidelines. For more information about SBER review, please refer to this site.

All other research projects that involve more than minimal risks should be directed to NUS-IRB. Before obtaining the DERC approval, researchers should not start the data collection process. The DERC's request for amendments to the research protocol, if any, should be followed and reflected in the revised application.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Forms and documents must be submitted in soft copy to the following email, cnmderc@nus.edu.sg. Researchers who wish to apply for the DERC review should download and fill the IRB SBER form. All DERC applications should have the documents requested in the IRB SBER form. All DERC applications should have the documents requested in the IRB application form.
2. Submissions should include accompanying support documents such as the participant information sheet (PIS), survey questionnaire, interview/focus group question guide and/or other relevant information.
3. Please ensure that the PI of the project and the co-PI (if any) both sign the IRB application form.
4. For undergraduate students, a PI must be her/his supervisor and the student is a Co-PI. They should download and fill out the list of PI and Co-PI form.
5. We will acknowledge your application and assign an assessor. If you do not receive an acknowledgement within 3 working days, please write back to cnmderc@nus.edu.sg.
6. The DERC reviews applications on a rolling basis, and takes approximately 10 days to process the review. Therefore, researchers should plan when to apply for the review.

FORMS

IRB Application Form for Social, Behavioural & Educational Research
IRB SBER Form
SBER Exemption Guidelines
Guidelines for IRB Exemption Form
SBER Exemption Categories
Participation Information Sheet (PIS) Sample
List of PIs and Co-PIs Form
Ethics Review of Student Research Involving Human Participants Guide
Protocol Amendment Form

ENQUIRIES

For further clarifications, please send an email to cnmderc@nus.edu.sg