Ethics Guidelines

Ethical guidelines define what actions are morally right and wrong. They are used as a code with which to perform duties. Psychologists use ethical guidelines in order to be certain that treatment and research are being conducted in a manner that is not harmful to participants. Some of these guidelines include topics like research ethics and confidentiality.

Ethics Review Committee

4.1 NUS-IRB Recommendation for Composition of the Departmental Ethics Review Committee

The Departmental Ethics Review Committee (DERC) should consist of five members - three domain-specific academic staff members and two "others" (who may be laypersons, alumni or undergraduate/graduate students). The membership should encompass expertise in various methodologies used in the department's research.

The Chair and members (and any necessary replacements) shall be appointed by the Head of the Department. Faculty members shall serve for staggered two-year terms while students serve one-year terms.

The Committee is encouraged to consult relevant experts within the faculty and NUS-IRB, if necessary.

The Department is expected to submit reports to NUS-IRB once every six months on the student research that they have reviewed and approved. Such reports should include the reasons for exempting a research.

They will determine whether the research can be exempted or referred to the NUS-IRB for review based on the risk to the research participants.

4.2 Composition of the Social Work Department Ethics Review Committee

Chairperson
A/P Srinivasan Chokkanathan, Associate Professor

Department Members
A/P Lee Jungup, Associate Professor

External members
Dr Mathew Mathews

Administrative Staff-in-Charge
Ms Tan Shi Hui

Useful Guides

Singapore Association of Social Workers (SASW) Code of Professional Ethics

Download SASW Guide

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