Model ethics application forms
Having dedicated forms for research-teaching projects convinces teachers that human research is possible for students, even expected or desirable, rather than a struggle with bureaucracy which only the most determined will attempt to overcome.
There’s an analogy with the disciplinary bias that many social scientists see in ethics application forms. When forms appear to be tailored to biomedical or clinical research, social scientists may go to great lengths awkwardly fitting their project into those forms, or they may choose to undertake research without ethics review. Either way, they conclude that the institution doesn’t know the right questions to ask about their research methods, isn’t supporting their kind of research, and that the ethics review process is therefore irrelevant.
Below are links to six institutions' dedicated ethics application forms for student research:
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QUT Academic Unit Application Kit (.zip): “For academic units that require students need to complete a short-term research project, like research methodology or undergraduate design.”
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La Trobe Teaching Practical Classes and Laboratory Exercises Application (PDF)
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University of Melbourne Project Application: program form and project form (PDF)
If you have a best-practice form or process for the ethics review of student research, or if you'd like to join our network of educators interested in a human research-led curriculum, please e-mail lisa.wynn @ mq.edu.au.