WARNING: No research can be conducted without ethics approval from the ethics committee

Any research conducted in the Graduate School of Business must first be approved by the UCT Faculty of Commerce. The Faculty of Commerce makes use of data regarding human subjects (see below for information on research using only secondary data) requires approval, or formal exemption from approval, from the Faculty Ethics in Research Committee (EiRC), where such approval is typically granted for a (renewable) year.

University policies on research integrity are linked below. Any Faculty-specific advice, guidelines, or policy are subservient to University policy in cases of apparent contradiction or ambiguity.

Secondary Data

Research involving only the use of secondary data – as defined in the practice note linked below – does not require the completion of either the pre-screening questionnaire (PSQ) or the completion of an application for ethical clearance.

While neither the PSQ nor an application is required for research involving only analysis of secondary data, researchers are nevertheless encouraged to a) complete the PSQ for reassurance that there are no ethical complications in their research; and b) to complete an application for ethical clearance in order to receive certification and a reference number, in case funders, publishers, or any other legitimately interested party requires this.

Research within the Health Sector

The Commerce Ethics in Research Committee is not legally permitted to approve applications covered by the Health Act of South Africa, which includes any research that contributes to knowledge of:

(a) the biological, clinical, psychological or social processes in human beings;
(b) improved methods for the provision of health services;
(c) human pathology;
(d) causes of disease;
(e) the effects of the environment on the human body;
(f) the development or new application of pharmaceuticals, medicines and
(g) the development of new applications of health technology;

Any research that meets the criteria listed above will be rejected by the Commerce committee and must be submitted to the Health Sciences Human Research Ethics Committee

Using staff or students as research participants

Research involving staff or students as participants needs to be approved by both a UCT EiRC, as well as by Human Resources (for staff) and/or by Student Affairs (for students). Once you have approval from a UCT EiRC, that approval would accompany your application to access staff and students, as described on the Accessing UCT staff or students as a research population page. The Commerce EiRC has no involvement in the process of granting any such permissions.

External Researchers

Applications from researchers who are not part of the UCT community – including international researchers, NGOs or other organisations – will typically not be considered unless UCT staff or students are also involved in designing and/or conducting the research.

The Application Process in the Commerce Faculty

UCT policies related to research ethics are available under Policies on the Research Support Hub website and applicants are advised to read the policies relevant to their application before submission.

While the Submittable Platform is currently still active and available for submissions, it will be replaced by the electronic research administration system (eRA) early in 2023. The eRA system is already functional, and applicants (all students, regardless of degree and/or Department, as well as staff) are encouraged to submit to eRA as of 12 December 2022. Form-based (pdf) submissions from students in departments other than Management Studies should no longer be submitted – students in this category should use the eRA system.

A full workflow of the application and approval process for eRA applications is provided in the process manual linked under “Policies and Resources” below. Most applicants will, however, find that the eRA system itself provides sufficient clarity on the steps to be followed.

Should you have any questions regarding applications for ethical clearance, please consult with your course convenor, supervisor, or department, as applicable.

Policies and Resources

The SuccessFactors learning platform offers a course on ethics in research (search for research integrity once logged in). Completion of the course is required for ethics reviewers and will also be useful to most researchers.

For any questions, please contact the research office.