Frequently asked questions about research ethics

General

To find out if you require an ethics approval, complete our decision tree.

I applied to HDEC and received an Out of Scope letter. What happens now?

You will need to apply to AUT Ethics Committee for review. Refer to the Do I need research ethics approval decision tree.

I need to change my research method slightly. Does this affect my ethics approval?

Research is a dynamic process and quite often a researcher needs to change their approach in the light of the research progress. As ethics approval is granted only for the project as presented in the application, any alteration to the project needs to be notified to AUTEC for approval. The Chair and the Executive Secretary have delegated authority to deal with minor alterations while more significant alterations will need to be considered at a full meeting of AUTEC.

The procedure for having an amendment approved is quite straightforward. Complete an EA2 Progress Report or Amendment of Application form and submit it to the AUTEC Secretariat along with all relevant documents. We will arrange the approval for you and advise you when it occurs. Please ensure that you attach the amended copies of any documents being provided to participant when the amendment means that these are now different to those for which approval was originally granted. It is a condition of ethics approval that only those documents approved by AUTEC may be given to participants.

You are advised that if your research has been underway for at least a year since approval and no EA2 progress report has been received, then your amendment will not be considered until a progress report is submitted.

Please remember when making alterations to your research process that the principle of informed consent means that you may need to go back and advise participants of your changes and that sometimes you may also need to obtain further consent from them.

I would like to ask some friends to help me with my work. Do I need ethics approval?

Many researchers create presentations, performances, artworks, or shows as part of their projects. These often involve fellow students, family, or friends in support roles, such as actors, models, or technical assistants. Whether ethics approval is required depends on whether these individuals are considered participants in the research. This determination needs to be made on a case-by-case basis, considering their specific roles in the project.

A good approach is that if the involvement of these individuals contributes to the research data, they are likely participants, and an ethics application is required.

My application has been provisionally approved, subject to conditions. What should I do now?

Most applications received by AUTEC are provisionally approved, subject to conditions being met (conditions are often asking for more information). As stated in the letter you receive, you may not begin work with any potential participants until you have made the requested changes and received full approval in writing.

Your response needs to be in writing. The best approach is to provide the AUTEC Secretariat with:

A cover letter addressing each point raised by AUTEC.
Copies of any changed documentation (as per the conditions).

If you disagree with a point raised by AUTEC, please propose an alternative approach or further justify your initial submission.

Once the AUTEC Secretariat receives your response, they will obtain the necessary delegated approvals and confirm the final approval of your application in writing. Please note that this process may take up to a week.

If you do not respond to the conditions within six months, your application will be closed. You will then be required to submit a new application if you wish to proceed with the research.

What classification is my device?

Many researchers are designing, developing, testing or evaluating devices that have a medical purpose. Unless the research involves a Class 1 medical device, it is most likely that you will need to seek ethics approval from a Health and Disabilities Ethics Committee.

But how do you know what class your device is? There is an online process to assist you, administered by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration. It is recommended that you navigate this first before beginning the ethics process.

What is the timeframe for gaining research ethics approval through the review pathways?

Currently there are two review pathways for research ethics at AUT.

The first pathway is for higher risk studies. These are almost always reviewed by the full Committee at one of their scheduled meetings.

The second is for lower risk studies. Under the minimal risk pathway, lower risk studies may be reviewed under delegated authority by sub-committee between scheduled full AUTEC meetings.

All timeframes are dependent on various factors, and based on some key assumptions:

That you have considered ethics from the conception of your research development.
That you create and submit a sufficiently detailed application.

We recommend that when you are starting to think about your research that you consult with one of our Research Ethics Senior Consultants to streamline your applications.

For full review:

The timeframe between submission and receiving a decision from the Committee is approximately 20 working days. This is assuming that submission occurs the day of agenda close.

For the minimal risk delegated review pathway:

The timeframe between submission and receiving a decision is approximately 10 working days.

Often applications require some changes based on the review. The research ethics team can assist with this process and understanding the conditions.

Your response needs to be in writing. The best approach is to provide the AUTEC Secretariat with:

A cover letter addressing each point raised by AUTEC.
Copies of any changed documentation (as per the conditions).

If you disagree with a point raised by AUTEC, please propose an alternative approach or further justify your initial submission. Further review takes approximately one working week before full approval is granted. After you receive full approval, you may begin your research.

AUTEC has deferred approval for my application, what should I do?

Occasionally, AUTEC may defer approving your ethics application. The decision letter from the Committee may highlight an ethical standard that has not been met or will outline specific features of the research that need further development or exploration. It will also indicate the name of the AUTEC or research ethics team member who is available to discuss your application prior to a resubmission.

Once you have addressed the points, submit a revised application form along with all relevant documentation by email to the AUTEC Secretariat. You may or may not want to submit a cover letter that responds to the points made by AUTEC. Resubmitted deferred applications are treated as new applications and go to a full AUTEC meeting for review. Your resubmission will be assigned to the next agenda, so please keep the agenda close dates in mind when planning your timeframes.

Where do I get documentation for participants translated?

If English is a second language for some of your participants, it is crucial to ensure they understand your research so they can give informed consent (as described in the National Ethics Advisory Committee Standards, chapter 7 ). We recommend translating your participant documentation into a language that participants have high written competence in, such as their first language. The translation costs are met by the researchers. Any translated documents should be included in your submission to AUTEC.
Several agencies specialise in translation services. Some recommended agencies are:

Where do I submit my application?

Submit your application by email to ethics@aut.ac.nz.

Prepare a single PDF file with the application document at the beginning, followed by all other supporting documents in the order stated in the application. Please make sure your application contains all required signatures from appropriate people in your faculty. It can be helpful to let the people know in advance that you will be asking for their signature.

Cultural and Social Issues

Consultation for researchers

Research procedures should be appropriate to the participants. Consequently, researchers have a responsibility to inform themselves of, and take the steps necessary to respect, the values, practices and beliefs of the cultures and social groups of all participants.

Where a research project targets persons from another cultural, social or language group, consideration must be given to the preferences of the potential participants as far as consultation, language and documentation are concerned. Researchers should also become aware of potential implications or interest that the process and outcomes of the research might have for other cultures or groups.

The purpose of any consultation is to ensure that research practices are appropriate and acceptable. Consultation should begin as early as possible in the project and should continue throughout its duration.

All researchers are encouraged to make themselves familiar with Te Ara Tika: Guidelines for Māori Research Ethics: A framework for researchers and ethics committee members.

Researchers may also find Te Kahui Mangai a directory of Iwi and Māori organisations to be helpful. This may be accessed via the Te Puna Kokiri website.

WHAT IS CONSULTATION

Based on case law, some of the elements of consultation can be summarised as including, but not limited to, all or any of the following:

discussing a proposal not yet finally decided upon;
listening to what others have to say and considering responses;
having sufficient time for genuine effort to be made;
having enough information to enable the person you are consulting with to be adequately informed so they are able to make intelligent and useful responses;
having an open mind and being ready to change or even start afresh although you already may have a working plan in mind;
it is an intermediate situation involving meaningful discussion;
the party obliged to consult holds meetings, provides relevant information and further information on request, and waits until those being consulted have had a say before making a decision;

Consultation is not

merely telling or presenting a final proposal;
Talking about or discussing something with someone in generalised terms;
the same as negotiation, although a result of consultation could be an agreement to negotiate.

What social and cultural sensitivity does AUTEC expect from researchers?

AUTEC expects AUT researchers to exercise a high level of social and cultural sensitivity when designing and implementing research.

Any research project which is directly or indirectly associated with AUT University and which is undertaken by one or more New Zealand citizens and/or by or with a researcher from another country or countries recognised by the New Zealand Government, shall at all times be aware of and abide by all relevant statutes, treaties, regulations and rules of the New Zealand Government and AUT University. This applies especially in relationship to social and cultural sensitivity.

The way knowledge is gained and shared in research is to incorporate the three principles of participation, protection and partnership (which arise from the Treaty of Waitangi). It should be noted that this is not restricted to any comparative studies between ethnic groups.

While at times researchers may not always be able to identify whether definitive cultural or social sensitivity issues may arise, they must be receptive and prepared for any such eventuality.

Research procedures shall be appropriate to all participants.  Researchers have a responsibility to be informed of and take steps necessary to respect the social and cultural sensitivity of all participants.

In the realms of sensitivity it is not acceptable to expose any researcher or participant to unacceptable standards of risk or harm whether they be physical, social, psychological or culturally incongruous or discordant.

When a research project involves persons from another culture or language group, consideration is to be given to the preferences of the potential participants as far as consultation, language and documentation are concerned.  Particular consideration must be given to the translation of documentation if appropriate in particular cases.

The purpose of any consultation is to ensure that research practices are appropriate and acceptable.  Consultation should begin as early as possible in the project and should continue throughout its duration.

Research Practice

Am I able to recruit AUT staff or students for my research?

Yes. You are able to recruit AUT staff or students for your research project. There are some ethical issues to consider, especially if you will be lecturing or tutoring any of them. Firstly, go and have a look at the Frequently Asked Question titled "What recruitment processes can I use?". This will give you a general overview of the ethical principles that you need to consider. Some ethical issues relating specifically to recruitment of AUT staff or students are:

Obtaining contact information

Class lists and other enrolment information are not available for research recruitment purposes. Advertisement using class presentations, posters, electronic newsletters, and other means is preferred. Please note that a copy of your advertisement needs to be enclosed with your ethics application.

Use of emails

AUTEC does not approve research that uses spam emails for recruitment. Again, advertisement in electronic newlsetters or on appropriate websites is the preferred option. Quite often however, researchers have a targeted list of email addresses collated from publicly available sources. In these cases, AUTEC allows limited use of unsolicited emails, with follow up emails limited to one or sometimes two mailings.

Distribution of surveys through the University email system

Frequently AUT researchers are undertaking evaluations of teaching and learning or processes and seek to utilise the results in research publications. When surveys are being emailed out to staff or students, then researchers are advised to consult with the University's Privacy Officer and the University Relations communications team to ascertain whether the distribution of their survey is appropriate and also to obtain access permission from them to use the University's lists of contacts in this way. Please note that access permission is not a substitute for ethics approval.

Recruitment of AUT staff or students by an external researcher

Any external researcher who is seeking to recruit AUT staff or students for research needs to apply to the Research Ethics Advisor for access permission. Comprehensive information about this is found in the section of the Research Ethics website titled 'Permission to recruit AUT Staff or Students for research'.

Am I able to use health records for my research?

Context is key.

AUTEC will consider applications where researchers use health records under certain circumstances (i.e. secondary use of health data), but these must comply with the Health Information Privacy Code and other relevant guidelines or policies.

The Health Information Privacy Code states that identifiable health information can be disclosed to a researcher under specific conditions:

the disclosure of the information is one of the purposes in connection with which the information was obtained (i.e. treatment of the individual), or
the disclosure is for a directly related purpose (i.e. audit for quality of service).

Directly related purposes could include an audit of service provision or other quality improvement measures. If the data was collected as part of previous research, any purpose explicitly outlined in the research methodology would apply.

Where researchers are provided de-identified data from another organisation, AUTEC request documentation describing how the de-identification of data was done and who the person responsible for this was. In this case, a person within the organisation who has stewardship of the data must de-identify the data before providing it to the researcher. The researcher cannot perform the de-identification.

A wavier of consent for use of secondary data may be granted by an ethics committee where it is sufficiently justified. Typically, this would be done in circumstances where there may be practical issues with gaining consent, such as in cases where the data set is very large, considered minimal risk or is historic.

The National Ethical Advisory Committee (NEAC) provides guidance for the use of patient data for purposes outside what it was originally collected for. This is referred to as secondary use of Health Data and has its own ethical considerations and level of risk. For more information, please read Chapter 12 of the NEAC standards, particularly from paragraph 12.28.

If in doubt, please make an appointment with a Research Ethics Senior Consultant .

Am I able to use patient contact details to recruit them for research?

Patient contact details are identifiable and cannot be disclosed except under specific circumstances. When recruiting patients, it is appropriate for someone independent of the research team to provide information about the study in their clinical capacity. They may then either seek the patient's consent to share their contact information with the researchers or provide the patient with an email or other contact method for the research team. Refer to "Am I able to use health records for my research" for further details.

I am employed in an organisation. May I use that organisation's contact information or data for my research?

Not usually. Information Privacy Principles 10 and 11 of the Privacy Act (2020) regulate the use and disclosure of personal information. They state that:

“An agency that holds personal information that was obtained in connection with one purpose shall not use (or disclose) the information for any other purpose unless that agency believes, on reasonable grounds…:

(e) that the purpose for which the information is used is directly related to the purpose in connection with which the information was obtained; or

(f) that the information - (i) is used in a form in which the individual concerned is not identified; or (ii) is used for statistical or research purposes and will not be published in a form that could reasonably be expected to identify the individual concerned;”

Directly related purposes are purposes closely connected with the purpose for which the information was collected. They are purposes that could reasonably be assumed to be within the expectations of the person from whom the information was collected. This may include, for example, disclosure of information for peer review and quality audit. Usually it would not include disclosure to a researcher.

A clear distinction needs to be made between your ability as an employee to access information to conduct your employer’s business and your ability to access that information as a researcher. Similarly, disclosure to a student for the purpose of obtaining a qualification is not usually considered to be a directly related purpose.

The use of organisational records for research without the authorization of the individual concerned should only be undertaken within specific constraints. The reasons for not seeking consent need to be justified to the ethics committee. These reasons may be scientific, practical or ethical. If a justification has been made, the research must also be of sufficient benefit that the harm caused as a result of the violation of privacy is outweighed. Obtaining a qualification is not considered by AUTEC normally to be a benefit which outweighs the violation of privacy.

When an agency is approached by a researcher seeking the disclosure of health information, it first needs to satisfy itself that ethical approval has been obtained (if required) and that the information will not be published in a form that could identify any individual. The agency being asked to disclose information will probably also want to be satisfied as to security safeguards and how any interaction with individuals will be managed. These issues should be anticipated by the researcher and addressed expressly within the ethics application, as well as in the approach to the agency. A researcher should also anticipate any disclosures inherent in a research proposal and address those in the protocol for the ethics committee’s consideration. The committee may wish to place conditions on the use or disclosure of the information.

May I ask my doctor or some other health professional to recruit patients for me?

Provided that:

no identifiable health information (including contact details) are disclosed to researchers without the consent of the person whose information it is, and
contacting patients in relation to research opportunities is directly related to the purposes for which the information was collected,

then it is appropriate to ask the health professional to provide advertisements, invitation letters, or Information Sheets to their patients on the researcher’s behalf. These should ask people to contact the researcher directly if they want more information or are interested in taking part.

Alternatively, patients may give permission to health professionals to pass on their contact details to the researcher.

How do I disseminate information about my findings?

There are two main aspects to disseminating the findings of your research, and information about each is required in different parts of the application form.

Notifying your participants
One way to provide feedback to participants about their contribution to the research is by offering a plain language summary of the results. In cases where health information is collected it may be also appropriate to offer participants a copy of their individual results as well. It is good practice to ask participants on the Consent Form if they wish to receive this summary and to provide it upon request. This can also be an act of reciprocity in providing a report of the findings to an organisation(s) involved in the study, such as assisting in study recruitment.

If participants are anonymous, i.e. the researcher does not know their identities, a mechanism is needed for participants to be able to access a summary of the research findings. AUTEC suggests advising participants of a website where the summary of the findings will be posted in the Information Sheet.
Publishing your findings
Beyond your participants, there are others who may be interested in your research findings. For many, knowing that your findings are published in a particular journal or available in the Tuwhera Open Access Research Repository will suffice. For other groups or individuals, it may be more effective to send a report directly to them, allowing them to distribute it to interested parties.

What do I need to include in an advertisement for participants?

Direct advertising to potential research participants should be regarded as the start of the informed and voluntary consent process as well as the start of the selection of participants. Include the final version of the advertisement in your application.

The advertisement should:

Use plain language and be content appropriate for the reader;
State that participation is voluntary;
Contain only factual information;
Make simple statements about benefits, harms, or payments and should not be overstated or written to be misleading. This applies to formatting (such as font size of certain words) as well as to the wording;
State that the research is investigative or otherwise experimental;
State that it is student research (if being undertaken to fulfil the requirements of completing a qualification);
Contain clear and concise information about what participation involves and what to do should they want to be a part of the research;
Present the research neutrally in terms of logos, images, font size, text effects and other such information;
Only mention compensation or gifting to ensure adequate information is given. Do not mention this if it would unduly influence or induce potential participants. For young people and for those likely to be from lower socio-economic backgrounds, it is nearly always inappropriate to mention compensation as they are particularly vulnerable to financial inducement;
Indicate whether significant transport costs may be covered by the research team, and to what extent;
Include the researcher’s name and a contact method so that potential participants can ask further questions;
Include the AUT logo;
Include the AUTEC review number and statement.

What is an observation protocol?

An observation protocol is a document that identifies how observation will be conducted as part of research and covers the following points:

How people will be recruited;
How people will be informed about the observation;
How people will consent to the observation;
What will be observed and what data will be collected;
How the data will be collected;
How any deception involved will be managed;
The data collection instrument.

Observation may often be very intrusive on people's privacy and the observation protocol should help the researcher to ensure that their observation is sufficiently focussed so as to minimise this intrusion and to adequately provide the data required to achieve the research's aims.

As each research study is quite focussed and unique, there is no standard template that can be applied across disciplines. It is more important to create a protocol that meets the needs of your study in relation to the above areas of focus.

What does having my research design peer reviewed involve?

The role of peer review is to provide an assessment of the research adequacy of a study. There are three key aspects to this:

The relative merit of the research,
The design and methods,
The feasibility of the research.

AUTEC provides a template that may be used as evidence of independent peer review. This template seeks to ensure that:

The research has clear goals,
The means to measure or otherwise collect data to meet those goals, and
The goals answer a gap in current knowledge whilst minimising risk to participants.

In some cases, it may be relevant to use the HDEC template for peer review (especially if applying to HDEC committees), and in that case you should use the HDEC scientific peer review template.

What is the difference between anonymity and confidentiality?

Refer to the Glossary for detailed information. In brief, within the context of research involving human participants, anonymity refers to the situation where the participant's identity is not known to the researcher, or if it is, when it is not possible for the researcher to identify what information belongs to a specific participant. Confidentiality relates to how the researcher uses the information that has been collected and the ways in which the researcher ensures that others cannot identify the participants.

What recruitment processes can I use?

How will you recruit your participants?

There are many methods, including, but by no means limited to, mail outs, emailing, telephoning, advertisement, recruitment through a third party (e.g. employer, doctor), and recruitment carried out by researchers. All of these access contact information through a variety of sources including, but again not limited to, contact details obtained from public documents (e.g. phone book), contact details obtained from private sources (e.g. employee list, membership database), participants from a previous study, snowballing (where participants suggest other potential participants), and personal contacts. What you choose to do depends on the sort of participants you are seeking to recruit, the research methodologies you are employing, and the accepted practices of your academic discipline. These are decisions that you will make in consultation with the applicable research literature, and your supervisor if you are a student or your peers if you are an experienced researcher.

From an ethical perspective, the most important thing is that the recruitment methods are appropriate for the participants you are seeking. Some of the things that will ensure this are:

Adequate voluntariness

The main ways in which recruitment methods may reduce or constrain voluntariness are by offering inappropriate levels of inducement for the people being approached and by having undue levels of coercion.

Inducement may be any form of benefit for the participants that entices or persuades them to participate in a research project in which they would not otherwise have wished to take part.This is different to a benefit that gives participants an incentive to actually do something now that they wished to do anyway.

Coercion is any form of pressure or persuasion, real or perceived, that constrains a participant's ability to say no.

Adequate voluntariness also means that refusal to participate will attract no sanction, and that participants will not be required to give reasons for refusal. It also means that if people agree to participate in the study, they are free to leave the study at any time without being required to give reasons for leaving.

Sufficient information

Your recruitment methods need to be designed to ensure that potential participants have adequate information about the research in order to consent to participating in it. Potential particpants also need adequate time to consider this information and opportunities to ask questions about matters of which they are not sure. They also need to know who to contact with any enquiries that they may have.

It may seem obvious to say it, but sufficient information also means that the information provided is truthful.

Appropriate conflict of interest management

Researchers frequently have other professional or personal relationships with the people whom they are recruiting. When this occurs, researchers need to be very careful that the two roles are kept separate. This is especially important when the other role means that the relationship cannot be one between people who have equal levels of power. A common example of this in a University setting is when lecturers invite their students to participate.

Wherever possible, it is best to invite participants from groups with which the researcher has no direct relationship. When this is not possible, then it is important to ensure that the recruitment and consent processes are managed by someone else who is independent. In these situations, it is also necessary to stress the voluntariness of participation and to make it clear that refusal to participate will not affect the other relationship in any way.

Transparency

When trying to persuade potential participants to take part in research, researchers may be tempted to downplay unpleasant aspects or consequences, overstate the likely importance of the findings, or eclude advice about aspects that may discourage participation. Ethical recruitment avoids these temptations, without dissuading potential participants.People who are undertaking research should not be suprised by what the researcher asks them to do nor by the sort and level of the outcomes of the findings.

Social and cultural appropriateness

We live in a culturally and socially diverse community and when recruiting participants, this needs to be taken into account. There is no effective substitute for consulting with the sorts of people that researchers would like to recruit and finding out what works and doesn't work for them. Researchers need to be aware that cultural differences can mean for example that a recruitment approach that the researcher considers to be normal and straight forward is perceived as coercive or threatening. It is better to have ascertained this before recruitment commences.

Respect for privacy

The main way in which people's privacy and confidentiality needs to be respected when recruiting participants is by respecting privacy legislation and professional relationships when accessing people's contact details. Basically, any contact information that is gained from a source that is in the public domain is able to be used, provided that there are no stated restrictions on their use.(Websites that require logins are not considered to be in the public domain).

When obtaining contact information from a third party or some other source that is not in the public domain, then two key considerations need to be met. Firstly, people need to have agreed to the third party sharing their contact details with researchers when they supplied the information. Secondly, the researcher needs to have the approval of the third party to use their lists of contacts. These restrictions also apply to the use of contact details from earlier studies and to snowballing. Researchers should note that AUT class lists may not be used for research recruitment purposes.

If you have any doubt or questions about ethical issues in relation to recruiting participants, please contact either the Research Ethics Advisor or your AUTEC Faculty representative for advice.

Who owns research data?

Primary legal responsibility under the Privacy Act (2020) for personal data which staff gather and use as part of the formal records of a research project rests with the University, as the employer and the data custodian. Staff may not remove such data without the University’s permission. Doing so could also compromise the rights of research participants e.g. by causing data to be moved to an environment with inadequate security.

Staff who wish to take non‐anonymised research data with them at the end of their employment must seek permission from their Head of School who should refer to any undertakings with respect to data access, storage and destruction given to participants in exchange for their consent. Particular care needs to be taken when the data contains identifiable sensitive information whose disclosure might cause loss or harm. Staff who are granted permission will be required to sign a confidentiality agreement requiring them to comply with The Privacy Act (2020), AUTEC’s Guidelines and Procedures, and any undertakings made to research participants. A copy of the data and Consent Forms should be retained by the University, unless its appropriate retention period has passed.

Students are required in their research to abide by the Research Code of Conduct, and AUTEC's Guidelines and Procedures, particularly in respect of personal data. The University is responsible for safeguarding personal data which students gather and use in their studies. Students may take personal data gathered by them in their research with them if they transfer to another University, unless the research was conducted as part of an AUT research project in which the student participated, or the agreement with the funder or sponsor of the research specifies otherwise. However, students are reminded that they must continue to meet the requirements of the Privacy Act (2020) and other legal and ethical requirements when using the data.

Consent Issues

Do I need a consent form for an anonymous survey?

No. Within the survey instructions or Information Sheet include a statement such as: 'By submitting this survey, you are indicating your consent to participate in this research'.

How do I evidence informed and voluntary consent?

In Aotearoa | New Zealand it is an ethical requirement that individuals invited to do research give informed and voluntary consent. Evidence of this must be obtained by the researchers and kept in the form of a Consent Form.

Adequate evidence of consent needs to include adequate evidence of identity.

For example:

Person A agreed to participate on date dd/mm/yyyy.

The researcher needs to keep the Consent Form for at least six years, in case verification is required for some reason. Information Sheets and Consent Forms need to have been approved by AUTEC before they are used.

In some cases, consent may be indicated through accessing or answering a survey, or questionnaire. Other cases may exist where there is no written consent collected. In these cases, AUTEC considers it sufficient to use a statement like the following at the start of the activity or in the information sheet:

'Completion of this questionnaire (or survey) will be taken as indicating your consent to participate in the research'

In some cases, it may be appropriate for an oral consent protocol to be used. This would only typically be used in cases where interviews are the main format that the research takes, and this should only be in cases where written consent is not practicable or appropriate.
The Oral Consent Protocol in the Consent Form exemplar is a good model to use in these cases and is not required where written consent is possible.

There may be cases where other forms of evidencing consent may be suitable, but these must be detailed/justified adequately for AUTEC to assess on a case-by-case basis.

In cases where organisational or group levels of consent are required, it is a legal requirement to include individual consents as well.

What are the ethical issues around using personal data collected by a third party?

Many researchers have an opportunity to undertake statistical analysis of personal data gathered by a third party. Also quite often, researchers are asked to share personal data that they have collected with a third party who wishes to analyse it. Researchers frequently enquire about whether they need ethics approval if they are using data collected by someone else, or about what ethical issues they need to take into account if sharing data that they have collected with a third party.

AUTEC advises AUT researchers, who intend undertaking statistical analysis of personal data gathered by a third party, that ethics approval is not usually required when the data has been de-identified and aggregated. In this case, all that is required is that the third party has appropriate and adequate consent from those whose data is involved to share the data in this manner. Where the data will not be de-identified and aggregated then the researcher may need to seek ethics approval. In this case, if the data involves health related records, then ethics approval must be sought through a Health and Disability Ethics Committee in accordance with the Health Research Council's Referral Guidelines.

In the case of AUT researchers sharing their data with third parties, what is important is whether the sharing of the data is adequately included within the conditions of the informed and voluntary consent that was sought and obtained from those whose data it is. AUTEC reminds researchers of the obligation under New Zealand law to use personal data only for the purposes for which it was collected and to destroy the data once that purpose has been fulfilled. Furthermore, AUTEC prefers that any sharing of data with third parties that is adequately covered by the consent should be done in a de-identified and aggregated manner as there are issues of privacy and confidentiality to be considered. Where the researcher has guaranteed confidentiality to the participants, then they may not share that data in a manner that enables the participants to be identified.

What is the difference between assent and consent?

Assent: An indication of interest used for individuals under the age of 16 years to indicate they would like to participate in research. Importantly, young people can assent, but consent from parents or guardians must also be obtained. Adults do not assent.

Consent: In Aotearoa New Zealand, consent is a legal agreement. In the context of research, consent is the agreement to participate in the study. Adults give consent on their own behalf or on behalf of their children or those they have legal guardianship over. For more information about consent and research in cases where participants may have diminished capacity to consent, please refer to the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights, Right 7.

Safety and Risk

Are there any special requirements associated with the collection of sensitive data?

Sensitive data is data that can be used to identify an individual, object or location and has a risk of discrimination, harm or unwanted attention. Sensitive data potentially poses a substantial threat to those who are or who have been involved in it, especially if it is shared inappropriately, or if it falls into the wrong hands.

Areas in which research data is likely to be threatening include:

Where research intrudes into the private sphere or delves into some deeply personal or emotional experience (e.g. experience of a serious medical condition or disability, sexual or religious practices, experience of abuse, death or violence);
Where the study is concerned with deviant, illegal or objectionable behaviours (e.g. the data reveals information that is stigmatizing or incriminating);
Where the study impinges on the vested interests of powerful persons or the exercise of coercion or domination (e.g. where the research is about social conflict or where participants may face political threat, discrimination or stigma).

The central issue for a sensitive data safety management protocol is the prevention of accidental disclosure of the identity of a participant or their personal information. If you are collecting sensitive data, you need to provide a Data Safety Management Protocol (see a guide to drafting one).

In addition, it is essential that you clearly advise participants that in the case of sensitive data, the University has custodial rights over the data from its collection through to its secure destruction.

May I interview or research with people at home?

The answer to this question is in two parts since there are separate issues associated with the use of the researcher's home and with the use of the participants' homes.

The standard practice at AUT is that it is not acceptable for researchers to use their homes to conduct research with participants. This applies to postgraduate students in particular, but is also applicable to staff. AUTEC will approve applications where the researcher is intending to invite participants to her or his home only in exceptional circumstances.

There are often times when it is most appropriate for researchers to visit participants in their homes in order to collect data, either by interview, test or observation. When researchers are intending to do this, AUTEC advises them to implement appropriate safety measures. This may include ensuring that one is accompanied by a colleague, reporting to a colleague when entering and leaving a participant's home, or ensuring that a colleague has a schedule of one's visits for a particular morning or afternoon. Especially when visiting participants who are in some way vulnerable, researchers need to ensure that they are appropriately accompanied and that appropriate protocols are followed. When visiting participants in their homes, researchers always need to act in culturally and socially sensitive ways, remembering that they are guests and that it is the participants who are doing the researchers the favour by agreeing to participate and share their homes.

What are AUTEC's requirements for Researcher Safety?

Often research requires that researchers undertake interviews or other activity in situations that put them at risk*, e.g. interviewing participants in their homes, undertaking research in an unfamiliar cultural or social context.

In these cases, AUTEC requires researchers to make suitable arrangements for their safety and to outline these for AUTEC in a researcher safety protocol (go here to view a guide for drafting a researcher safety protocol).  Given the variety of situations and activities that may be involved, there is no standard format for such a protocol.  Usually, it includes arranging for colleagues or someone who can be expected to care about one's safety to be aware of one's travel plans or interviewing schedules, having suitable contact networks in the field, and ensuring that there is some sort of confirmation process before and after an appointment.  It is also prudent to outline what the colleague or partner will do should the confirmation not eventuate.

The safety protocol may also include ensuring that one is accompanied by a colleague, reporting to a colleague when entering and leaving a participant's home, or ensuring that a colleague has a schedule of one's visits for a particular morning or afternoon.  Especially when visiting participants who are in some way vulnerable, researchers need to ensure that they are appropriately accompanied and that appropriate protocols are followed.  When visiting participants in their homes, researchers always need to act in culturally and socially sensitive ways, remembering that they are guests and that it is the participants who are doing the researchers the favour by agreeing to participate in the research and to share their homes.

Researchers are advised that the standard practice at AUT is that it is not acceptable for researchers to use their own homes to conduct research with participants.  This applies to postgraduate students in particular, but is also applicable to staff.  AUTEC will approve applications where the researcher is intending to invite participants to her or his home only in exceptional circumstances.

Researchers travelling overseas need to be familiar with any travel warnings that are in place for the location to which they are travelling and to have undertaken consultation with relevant groups and authorities about how best to conduct research within the culture and jurisdiction to which they are travelling.

*For an understanding of how researchers may be at risk, applicants are advised to look at this report into the safety of researchers and to view A code of practice for the safety of Social Researchers.

When do I need to provide counselling opportunities for participants, and who pays?

There are a number of factors that you need to take into consideration when deciding whether to provide counselling opportunities for participants. These include, though are not limited to:

Is it likely that participants will recall, revisit, or re-live traumatic events?
Is the topic or nature of your research one that is likely to elicit the sort of distress that would require counselling?
Is your research likely to be quite challenging for the sort of people that you are asking to participate?
Is there a reasonable probability that your participants will be at risk of harm?

When considering these issues, it is important to neither overstate nor dismiss any potential risk. Responsible researching involves providing reasonable care for your participants.

If you do decide that it would be prudent to provide counselling opportunities, then the next issue is to decide which health providers you will use. It is important that any opportunities you provide will not require any payment from the participant. When counselling is required as a consequence of your research, then you need to ensure that your participants do not pay for the consultations. For adult participants in the Auckland region, the usual counselling provider that you should offer is AUT Student Counselling and Mental Health.

AUT Student Counselling and Mental Health can provide up to three free sessions of counselling for research participants, where the researcher is an AUT student or staff member and has AUTEC approval. These sessions are only available for issues that have arisen directly as a result of their participation in the research, and are not for other general counselling needs. If your participant is an AUT student, then they are entitled to access AUT Student Counselling and Mental Health free of charge and may not be limited to three counselling sessions. When offering the use of AUT Student Counselling and Mental Health, there is an agreed wording that you will need to include in your Information Sheet. You will find this in the Information Sheet exemplar.

Should a participant wish to use the counselling sessions, they will need to identify you and the research project they have been involved in when they make their appointment. The counselling is face-to-face onsite in the AUT Student Counselling & Mental Health Centres or online via a video call. This counselling provision cannot accommodate crisis work, so in that situation the participant would need to access their own health provider or Community Mental Health Services as soon as possible.

If your participants are adults outside the Auckland region, then you will need to locate an appropriate local or online service close to them and make any necessary arrangements with those services. Many researchers provide the contact numbers for free publicly available telephone services such as Lifeline, Youthline, Outline et cetera. There may also be services linked to the area of your research, e.g. Depression Helpline, Chinese Lifeline, Wellington Samaritans, Problem Gambling, and many others.

Counselling services for children are not available at AUT. If you are conducting your research within a school community, then you may be able to access the local school counsellor. Please note that this option may not be appropriate if the school counsellor is involved in or is the focus of the research. There are also telephone services such as Kidsline and Youthline.

These are some suggestions. It is up to you to find a suitable free service that is appropriate for your research and to provide your participants and AUTEC with advice about how the services you have chosen may be accessed if they are needed.

Animal Ethics

What should I do if my teaching or research will involve animals?

All use of animals in teaching or research is governed by the Animal Welfare Act 1999 and requires approval from an Animal Ethics Committee authorised by the Minister of Agriculture, in accordance with an approved Code of Conduct. Codes of conduct are approved and monitored by the Minister of Agriculture through the National Animal Ethics Advisory Committee.

AUT has a Memorandum of Understanding with The University of Auckland which allows AUT academic staff or students who need to apply for ethics approval for animal research and learning to apply to The University of Auckland Animal Ethics Committee (UAAEC). It also allows for AUT academic staff or students to apply for approval of standard operating procedures for an animal research facility. Please note that the approval of standard operating procedures does not constitute AUT organisational approval to operate an animal research facility.

AUT researchers and academic staff wishing to use animals should contact the Secretary of the UAAEC. Please refer to the flow chart detailing the process for application to the UAAEC.

The coversheet supplied by the UAAEC will need to be signed off by your Head of Department, the Associate Dean (Research) and the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research) at AUT and then submitted to the Research Ethics Lead along with the application and an internal charge docket (ICD).

AUT researchers and academic staff will need to be able to meet the fees for application and monitoring from their own research or teaching budgets.

Information about animal welfare and the animal ethics process can be accessed on theUniversity of Auckland’s Animal Ethics pages.