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Knowledge Base Directory

The following is a complete list of pages currently in the Iris Ethics Knowledge Base. If you have a suggestion for something you'd like us to add or expand on, please let us know!

  1. Getting started

    1. For researchers and evaluators

      1. What is ethical review?
      2. What needs ethical review?

      3. Types of ethical review

        1. Expert determination

      4. Timeline, fees, and processes​

    2. For HREC members

      1. Roles and responsibilities
      2. Review standards and thresholds
      3. Meeting procedures
      4. Decision-making framework
    3. The National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research

  2. Foundational concepts in ethical review

    1. Core ethical principles (NS 1)

      1. Merit (NS 1.1-1.2)

      2. Integrity (NS 1.3)

      3. Justice (NS 1.4-1.5)

      4. Beneficence (NS 1.6-1.9)

      5. Respect (NS 1.10-1.13)

    2. Assessing risk and benefit (NS 2.1)

      1. Understanding risks in ethical review

      2. Risk of harm

      3. Risk of discomfort

      4. Harm vs discomfort

      5. Risk of inconvenience

      6. Risk assessment checklist

      7. Risk vs benefit

      8. Common risks in evaluation, market research, and social research

    3. Is ethics review required?

      1. Exemptions from ethical review (NS 5.1.15-5.1.18)

        1. Exemptions of already-conducted research and evaluation

      2. Lower risk vs full HREC review

      3. What counts as research

        1. Co-design

        2. Evaluation and quality assurance

        3. Market research

        4. Public submissions and ethical review

    4. Ethics review and other approvals

      1. Navigating multiple ethics reviews

      2. State and territory requirements

      3. Government review bodies


  3. Research/evaluation design elements (NS 3)

    2. Scope and methods

      1. Demonstrating research merit

      2. Method selection

      3. Resource planning

    3. Recruitment

      1. Participant selection

      2. Recruitment strategies

      3. Snowball sampling

      4. Market research panels

      5. Avoiding coercion

      6. Payments and incentives

    4. Consent

      1. General consent requirements

      2. Information required

      3. Plain language, Easy English and Easy Read

      4. Withdrawal of consent

      5. When consent can be modified

      6. When consent can be waived

      7. Opt-out approaches

      8. Consent in different contexts

      9. Consent checklist

      10. Participant Information and Consent Forms

    5. Data management

      1. Collection and storage

      2. Privacy and identifiability

      3. Secondary use of data

      4. Data sharing and retention

    6. Communicating findings to participants

      1. Returning findings to participants

      2. Disclosure to third parties

    7. Dissemination planning

      1. Whose story is it to tell?

    8. After the project


  4. Special considerations

    1. Specific populations

      2. Participants who may experience increased risk (NS 4.1)

      3. Children and young people (NS 4.3)

      4. People in dependent relationships (NS 4.4)

      5. People with disability or illness (NS 4.5)

      6. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (NS 4.7)

      7. Accessible consultation

    2. Research contexts

      1. Employee surveys and workplace research

      2. Online/digital research

        1. IP address data in online research

        2. ISO 20252

      3. Research during natural disasters and other crises (NS 4.8)

      4. Research that may discover illegal activity (NS 4.9)

      5. Research in other countries (NS 4.6)

    3. Special techniques

      1. Blanket approval

      2. Developmental evaluation

      3. Limited disclosure and deception

      4. Uses of existing data/records

      5. Research using artificial intelligence

        1. AI transparency checklist

        2. Where AI is used to generate data (synthetic data)

        3. Where AI is used to collect data (chatbots/agentic interviews)

        4. Where AI is used to analyse data and generate findings

      6. Document reviews

      7. Observational research

        1. Third-party and commissioner observation

      8. Trauma-informed research and evaluation

      9. Delphi methods


  5. Application process

    1. Preparing your application

      1. Application form guide

      2. Supporting documents

      3. Common mistakes to avoid

    2. Submission and review

      1. Pre-review

      2. Timeline, fees, and processes​

      3. Decision types

      4. Responding to requests for information/amendment

      5. Appeals process

    3. Managing approved projects

      1. Amendments

      2. Annual and final reporting

      3. Extensions of time

      4. Adverse events

      5. Complaints

      7. Data retention


  6. HREC operations

    1. Committee composition and governance

      1. Membership requirements

      2. Terms of Reference

      3. Member responsibilities

      4. Training requirements

    2. Review standards

      1. Consistency in decision-making

      2. Red flags and concerns

      3. Review checklist

      4. Assessing consent adequacy

      5. Assessing risk levels

    3. Conflicts of interest

      1. Disclosure requirements

      2. Managing conflicts

      3. Recording decisions

    4. Monitoring and compliance

      1. Monitoring mechanisms

      2. Progress report review

      3. Safety reporting

      4. Suspension/withdrawal of approval

    5. Administrative procedures

      1. Communication with applicants

      2. Complaints handling

      3. Record keeping

      4. Reporting requirements

    6. Standard Operating Procedures


  7. Reference library

    1. The National Statement

      1. Plain English Summary of the National Statement

    2. Glossary

    3. Templates and forms

    4. Quick reference tools

      1. Common scenario decision trees

      2. National Statement Navigator

      3. Consent requirements checklist

      4. Risk assessment matrix

      5. Distress protocols

      6. Data collection matrix


  8. Case studies and examples

    1. Market research

    2. Social research

    3. Policy and program evaluation

    4. Complex consent

    5. Risk assessment