FREC

Faculty of Education FREC: Information and Resources

!Important Points!

Online REDP Form:

Part 2: Self Assessment and Relevant Details:

17. Cooperating institution:

Please enlist and provide the number of each cooperating institution that will be contacted including:

(i) institutions required for access to participants (e.g., MEYR, Secretariat for Catholic Schools, etc.);

(ii) institutional gatekeepers directly responsible for participants (e.g., heads of school, NGO executives, etc.).

Kindly note that Education FREC in the section above requires applicants to send letters requesting permission in the section below before they are sent to the intermediaries. FREC will review such letters along with the online REDP form and any other documentation. Please mark the section above as "Yes/Unsure" if you require permissions.

It is also highly recommended that researchers submit their online FREC applications as early as possible in order to avoid undue pressure and undue delays.

URECA Guidelines:

Order of documents to attach to URECA Form

Research Code of Practice

Research Ethics Review Procedures

General Data Protection Regulations

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

URECA Resources:

URECA Online Form

URECAReplicaForm

Sample information letters and consent forms

Information Letter - Younger Pupils - Primary School

Information Letter Pupils - Secondary School

Sample Participant Assent Form (Secondary Student)

Sample Participant Assent Form – Younger students

Sample Participant Assent form – Very Young Pupils

Presentations and Videos:

Instructional videos on URECA

FREC Information meeting for part-time and full-time supervisors - 18-10-2023

FREC Information meeting for all MTL part-time students - 18-12-2023

Faculty of Education Research Ethics Slide presentation - 06-01-2023

Power Point presentation used during the ethics presentation of 2021

CPD Information session Power Point

The role of the Faculty Research Ethics Committee (FREC) is to ensure that the University of Malta’s Research Code of Practice is adhered to. FREC manages the process of reviewing applications submitted for ethical clearance; this is done in accordance with the University of Malta’s Research Ethics Review Procedures .

FREC works to comply with international standards of research, especially those established by recognised associations in Education, and cognate disciplines, such as BERA, BSA, APA and others. It is also committed to ensure that research is compliant with the EU General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) that came into force as of May 2018. Apart from ensuring that participants in research are protected by ethical research, FREC also assists researchers (staff and students) by giving advice on how to reach the expected standards and how to modify proposals and documents where necessary.

FREC receives Ethics applications as an ongoing process; hence, applicants may submit their Ethics Application at any time of the year. Applications are processed in the order that they are received.

Nonetheless, applicants would benefit from submitting their online FREC applications as early as possible in order to avoid undue pressure and undue delays.

When applying, it is highly recommended that the URECA Replica Form is first downloaded by applicants to familiarise themselves with its contents and requirements. It is also highly advised that students consult with their supervisors while filling in the replica/online form. Instructional videos can be followed for further guidance on submitting the URECA form.

The online URECA form includes a 'Self-Assessment' section. If no potential issues are indicated in this section, the applicant can submit the application and supporting documents (e.g. information letters, consent forms, interview questions, etc.) for FREC records.

If any issues are flagged in Part 2 : Self-Assessment and Relevant Details, the applicant will be asked to elaborate upon the specific issue/s indicated, and will need to seek FREC permission before data collection.

For ease of reference, FREC requests that the documents are filed in the order indicated in the Further Information and Resources section (see Further information and resources).

Any other correspondence should be sent to the secretary of FREC (Education) Natalie Formosa. If further amendments need to be done to the online form and/or to the documents, feedback will be sent to you from the email address research-ethics.educ@um.edu.mt .

Supervisors must confirm that they have read and approved the documents that the students are submitting. FREC can only process a student’s application (for records or for review) if it has been endorsed by the supervisor. It is the students' responsibility to ensure that the application is endorsed by their principal supervisors.

FREC will eventually approve, send for amendments or ask to resubmit the online URECA application once it has been received and processed. If applicants are requested to send amendments, the REDP form can be accessed and amended through the online URECA form.

Please also note that in the case of Faculty of Education FREC, the necessary institutional and gatekeeper permissions need to be submitted on your online URECA form AFTER your URECA form has been granted ethical clearance from FREC.

For further details on completing and submitting the online form, researchers are to refer to the FREC Ethics Power Point presentation and recording (listed in the first bullet below):

For further information on the FREC process, a FREC ethics presentation was recorded on the 18th December 2023, which can be accessed through here.

An example of the list of documents that an applicant might need to attach to the URECA form can be accessed through OrderofFRECdocuments.pdf

Should researchers wish to add extra information on the URECA form but are unable to do so due to the form's limit, researchers are to write the extra information on a Word document and attach the Word document to the URECA form before submitting.

For preparing Permission Letters, Information Letters and Consent forms, you are highly advised to use the samples on the UREC site https://www.um.edu.mt/research/ethics/resources/samples and amend them accordingly.

It is also highly recommended that applicants read the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) compiled by the University Research Ethics Committee.

FREC receives Ethics applications as an ongoing process; hence, applicants may submit their Ethics Application at any time of the year. Applications are processed in the order that they are received.

FREC meets regularly. During 2022, 2023 and 2024 the FREC committee met on the dates listed below:

28th July 2022

10th October 2022

20th October 2022

25th October 2022

2nd November 2022

7th November 2022

16th November 2022

22nd November 2022

14th December 2022

17th January 2023

23rd January 2023