Part 1: Applicant and project details Part 2: Self-assessment and details Part 3: Submission
Read these important notes carefully:
Fill in Parts 1, 2 and 3. If any of the questions in Part 2 are marked as 'Yes/Unsure', the application will be REVIEWED by the REC before any data collection may commence. In cases where none of the questions in Part 2 are marked as 'Yes/Unsure', the application will still be received by the REC for filing and kept for RECORDS and audit purposes; in such cases, data collection may start immediately.
Applicants should check whether any cooperating institutions require to authorise the research being proposed. If prior approval by IES REC is required in order for the cooperating institution to grant the applicant permission to proceed, please answer Q.17 with “Yes/Unsure”. If you have already obtained the required permissions from the cooperating institution/s, then answer Q.17 with “No” and attach a PDF copy of the written authorisation/s to your URECA form.
Consent forms should reflect the requirements indicated in Section 3.1.3 of the University of Malta Research Code of Practice.
All attachments should be in PDF form. The Principal Supervisor is to ENDORSE the URECA form and all attachments. As indicated in the Research Ethics Review Procedures, supervisors are responsible for the documents they endorse. Supervisors should ensure the URECA form and related materials are up to standard before forwarding their approval. This includes proper use of English and Maltese without grammatical errors and typos.
Once the URECA form has been submitted, the supervisor receives it automatically. The REC will only receive the application once the supervisor endorses it.
Researchers who are collecting Special Categories of Personal Data (SCPD) (Part 2, No. 5) require a Data Management Plan. Applicants may wish to consult the UREC's guidelines on identifying SCPD.
Applicants who will be asking the Office of the Registrar and/or Communications Office to disseminate their call for participants also need to mark Part 2, No. 17 as 'Yes' and fill in Part 3, No.17.
IES REC reviews research ethics applications as an ongoing process, and applicants may therefore submit their completed URECA forms at any time of the year. Applications will be processed in the order that they are received, and researchers should submit their URECA forms as soon as they have established their detailed methodology and prepared any data collection instruments they may require. Please keep in mind that should an ethics review be required, approval by REC is needed BEFORE any data collection may commence.
When the digital form is marked as submitted for review, applicants are to wait for ethical approval before starting data collection.
It is not correct for researchers to state that UREC has reviewed/approved their study. UREC encourages the use of the following statement or something similar as this is general and covers all cases, including those where no REC review is necessary: 'This research is in conformity with the University of Malta’s Research Code of Practice and Research Ethics Review Procedures.'
Infringements of regulations and/or policies concerning ethics and data protection are matters for disciplinary action.
For questions regarding any issue/s related to the IES REC, please contact us ONLY via email.
