Ethics and research integrity

All Monash University researchers, including Graduate Research candidates, are required to comply with the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research.

Tthe Code and Monash policies and procedures cover a large range of research activity, including aspects such as authorship, data management, supervision of research trainees, publication and dissemination of research findings, conflict of interest, and ethical clearances. An overview is provided in the compulsory online research integrity induction module, which you can revisit at any time to refresh your memory.

Within MADA research involving human participants or subjects may take many various forms, the majority of which will be considered low risk. Examples of research projects that may require human ethics clearance include:

• Use of interviews, focus groups or survey data
• Research which includes the production of creative works utilising human stories and documents (photographs, written, audio and visual material)
• Research which uses human materials for the production of creative works (hair, bones, fluids)
• Design, testing and production of human-use products (transport design, public health projects, investigations into housing alternatives where interview data is utilised, design of mobility aids, hearing aids, other medical aids which require human interaction to test and develop)
• Design, development and commercialisation of materials for human use

How to start an ethics application

Your primary supervisor will need to initiate the human ethics clearance application on your behalf.