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.
Student Projects
NUS IRB staff has kindly agreed to give a talk to undergraduates if there are any request by department. It is important for students to understand the research ethics requirement for their ISM/Honours thesis.
2.1 Undergraduate: ISM (Independent Study Modules)
ISM projects are usually considered as 'teaching assignments' and don't require ethics review unless with intent to publish. If intent to publish, submit an application to DERC. If not intent to publish, all teaching assignments must be supervised by the supervisor and must observe the NUS IRB ethical guidelines. Supervisors are free to consult DERC if necessary.
In addition, if the ISM topic is very sensitive (i.e., prison study, terminally ill patients, etc.), then the supervisor should seriously consider and screen whether the applicant (student) is really capable to conduct this kind of research.
2.2 Undergraduate: Honours Thesis
For undergraduate student research projects, with or without the intention to publish, the application will be reviewed by DERC and DERC will determine if the risk is minimal even if the project involves vulnerable populations (e.g., children, prisoners). Once DERC approves, NUS-IRB will provide retrospective approval when the manuscript for journal publication is submitted provided proper documentation from the DERC on the review process is submitted for the IRB's review. The agency approval letter has to be attached to the application at the point of submission. If there are more agencies involved, conditional approval will be given with one approval letter first and subsequently with the rest of the agencies' approval letters.
B) If the supervisor is the co-investigator of the DERC application, the supervisor should be responsible for reviewing the application and making sure that the student submits the completed application. Incomplete applications will take more time for getting the DERC approval.
C) However, supervisor will define the risk of the research and whether it will be published. If the supervisor decides that the project involves more than minimal risk to the participants, they can always submit the application to NUS-IRB directly. Note: Involving vulnerable population (e.g., children, prisoners) is not the only criteria to determine risks to the participants. For application to the NUS-IRB, undergraduates will have to apply with their supervisor as the Principal Investigator. All applications should be submitted to NUS-IRB on the 1st week of the month as the applications are usually reviewed on the 4th Friday of every month.
2.3 Graduate
For graduate student projects undertaken with the intention to publish, the application will be subject to review by NUS IRB.
For graduate student projects undertaken with NO intention to publish, applications will be reviewed by DERC.
Useful Guides
Singapore Association of Social Workers (SASW) Code of Professional Ethics
