Ethics Review of Human Research

Ethics Review of Human Research

All research at NUS involving humans as research participants (including cells, tissues, medical records etc.) must be subject to an ethics review. All staff research must be reviewed by the NUS Institutional Review Board (IRB). The NUS IRB has a website with all of the necessary guides and forms.

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Applications (Student Research):

Student research (both undergraduate and graduate) at the College of Design and Engineering (CDE) involving human research participants can be reviewed by the CDE Ethics Review Committee (ERC) instead of the NUS IRB, provided that the work involves no more than minimal risk to participants, and does not fall under the Human Biomedical Research Act (HBRA) or Health Products Act (HPA).

To send the student research for ethics review by the CDE ERC, the student is required to download and complete the appropriate forms from the CDE ERC website, and submit them via email to cdebox5@nus.edu.sg. The student will receive an email acknowledgement of their submission. Thereafter, the CDE ERC will review their submission, follow up with any clarifications required, and then return their decision to the student. The student may start their research only after their submission has been approved by the CDE ERC.

In their submission, the student should also ensure that the following documents are provided for a complete submission package:

  1. CDE ERC Application Form for Social, Behavioural & Educational Research (Version 2, dated 21 November).
  2. CDE ERC Guidelines on Participant Information Sheet & Consent Form (Version 2, dated 21 November).
  3. Recruitment materials, which could be recruitment advertisements, posters, and email invitations. Please refer to IRB-GUIDE-S04 Guidelines on Advertisements for Recruitment of Research Participants for more details.
  4. Data collection instruments, which could be survey questionnaire, interview guide, and focus group discussion guide/questions.
  5. Supervisor’s Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) certificate for “Social behavioral – Basic/Refresher”. Please refer to Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative Programme Info for more details.

For more details on the ethics review of student research involving human research participants, please refer to IRB-GUIDE-018 Ethics Review of Student Research Involving Human Research Participants.

Amendments (Student Research):

If the student research was previously approved by the CDE ERC, and subsequently requires one or more amendments, the student will also need to download and complete the appropriate forms from the CDE ERC website, and resubmit them via email to cdebox5@nus.edu.sg. (Note that research end date extension will also constitute an amendment to the research and hence require the CDE ERC's approval.) Please ensure that the reference number of the previous approval is also included the email subject. Likewise, the student may start/resume their amended research only after their submission has been approved by the CDE ERC.

Other Useful Information:

  1. Photography and video recordings that capture the participants’ faces are classified as “personal data” under the Personal Data Protection Act. In the Participant Information Sheet (PIS), the researcher should inform the participants (i) what is the purpose of capturing their photo and video, (ii) what will the photos and videos be used for, (iii) whether their faces will be blurred or not be blurred before use, and (iv) when will photos and videos be deleted (i.e., for how long will photos and videos be stored for). In the Consent Form, the researcher should include an option for the participants to agree or disagree to photography and video recording. Please use the standard verbiage from the CDE ERC Guidelines on Participant Information Sheet & Consent Form.
  2. Social media data/posts may fall under “human subjects research”. Please see Category 4B) under the List of SBER Exemption Categories for more examples of such research. The researcher should provide more details of (i) what types of posts will be analysed, (ii) whether any posts will be reproduced (e.g., screenshots used) in their thesis, publications, etc. The researcher should also apply for a waiver of informed consent in the ethics application form if required (see Category 4B) under the List of SBER Exemption Categories). Alternatively, the researcher should seek permission for the use of social media posts (if feasible).
  3. Data collection instruments are essential components in collecting research data from the participants. In the future, if there are any changes to the survey questionnaire, the researcher should submit a modification or amendment to the CDE ERC and attach the latest version for the CDE ERC’s review, before enacting the changes. For interview or focus group questions, it may not be possible to define exactly what questions will be asked, but the researcher can make clear to participants that the initial set of questions are the starting points of the conversation. Please refer to the above section "Amendments (Student Research)" for more details on post-approval revisions.
  4. Non-NUS students should be aged 21 and above if recruited. If they are aged below 21 years old, parental consent should be obtained.

Composition of the Faculty’s Ethics Review Committee:

The CDE ERC is currently chaired by A/Prof Arthur Tay, and the members include:

  • A/Prof Tay En Rong, Stephen
  • A/Prof Goh Yang Miang
  • Dr Alexander Lin
  • A/Prof Lau Siu Kit, Eddie
  • Asst Prof Dorothy Tang
  • Asst Prof Trivic Zdravko
  • Asst Prof Lee Jung Joo
  • A/Prof Khoo Eng Tat
  • Dr Tang Kok Zuea
  • Dr Lee Sang Won, Kate