Melbourne School of Health SciencesNursing

All Nursing research projects involving human participants require ethics approval from the School Human Ethics Advisory Group (SHEAG) before they can proceed. Please visit the Nursing's Human Ethics page for information on the Ethics application process, SHEAG members, meeting dates and application deadlines.

What is an Ethics Defence?

Before the research commences, PhD and MPhil candidates must make an oral defence of their research proposal before an Ethics Defence Panel comprising the candidate's supervisors and nominated senior academic staff.

When should I undertake an Ethics Defence?

All Masters by Research and PhD students are encouraged to defend their proposals as soon as they are ready to do so. This would normally be no later than six months after commencing full time candidature for Masters by Research students, and nine months for full time PhD students (12 months for part time Masters by Research students and 18 months for part time PhD students).

Students should consult with their supervisors to arrange an appropriate time for their defence. Where appropriate, the defence process may coincide with the Confirmation of candidature for PhD students and may occur in the same presentation and meeting.

Can I submit my human ethics application prior to doing an Ethics Defence?

No. The ethics defence must be made prior to the submission of a proposal to either the School Human Ethics Advisory Group or external ethics committees.

How long is an Ethics Defence, and what do I focus on in my presentation?

Students should make a 20-minute presentation that provides an outline of their research project and proposed methodology. A further 20 minutes should be allocated for discussion between the Panel, the student and the Nursing community. The final 20 minutes should be devoted to the deliberations of the Panel, in conjunction with the student.

In their presentation, the candidate should focus on the following:

• a rationale for the proposed research, based upon an outline of relevant theoretical frameworks;
  
• logically defensible research hypotheses or questions;
  
• a justification of the research design that specifies the relationship between research hypotheses, design, methods and data analytic procedures; and
  
• an argument for the relevance of the research to nursing.

What is the role of the Ethics Defence Panel?

It is the role of the Panel to:

• evaluate the quality of the student's proposal;
  
• determine the viability of the proposed research, including evaluating any resource or ethical issues;
  
• suggest any necessary changes to the research;
  
• advise on appropriate research training for the candidate;
  
• indicate that they agree the application should proceed; and
  
• offer advice throughout the subsequent course of the student's candidature, reconvening, under normal circumstances, each semester.

The candidate meets the Panel following the oral defence to discuss the project.

The panel will make one of two possible judgements: ‘ready to proceed' and ‘not ready to proceed'. If a project is judged ‘not ready to proceed', the student is given explicit feedback via the Ethics Defence Panel Form for PhD and Masters by Research Candidates from the panel and the supervisor on how to amend the human ethics application. If a project is judged ‘ready to proceed,' the panel members are required to sign that they agree that the proposed research should proceed, and that they agree with the feedback to the student.

Where can I get a copy of the Ethics Defence Panel Form for PhD and Masters by Research Candidates?

The form is available online: Ethics Defence Panel Form.

Who comprises the Ethics Defence Panel?

The composition of the Panel for each student is decided in consultation between the principal supervisor and the Associate Head (Research Training), along with other relevant members of academic staff of Nursing and the University.

It comprises a Chair (who can't be a supervisor), supervisors and other appropriate senior academic staff.

So how do I organise the ethics defence?

In preparation for the ethics defence, the candidate needs to:

• contact their supervisor (s) to discuss the date for the ethics defence.
  
• contact the Student and Research Programs Manager with the proposed date at least four weeks prior to this date.

The Student and Research Programs Manager will then organise the defence (including contact additional members to be on the Ethics Defence Panel), book the venue, and advertise the event via email to the Nursing community.

One week prior to the ethics defence, the candidate needs to send the Student and Research Programs Manager:

• a draft of the human ethics application, along with all associated documents (such as consent forms, plain language statements, etc.)
  
• a copy of the candidate's PowerPoint presentation, which will form the basis for the oral defence.

These documents are then sent to the Ethics Defence Panel members.

Note: the candidate is expected to have consulted with their supervisor(s) in drafting the human ethics application and the PowerPoint presentation well before the ethics defence is to be held.

Note: Students who have made their defence are not required to present at Nursing's Research Training Forum series for that semester. Both part time and full time students are still required to present their research at the RTF in the following semester.

When can I submit my human ethics application?

You can submit your application to the relevant ethics committee (either the School Human Ethics Advisory Group or an external committee) only if the Panel recommends that you are ‘ready to proceed'.

Information on how to submit a human ethics application is available in Nursing's Human Ethics Kit 2008.