Research

Research Ethics

All research at Unisa must obtain ethics clearance. CAES has two Research Ethics Committees:

UNISA-CAES Health Research Ethics Committee:

(Terms of reference)

This Committee reviews applications for research that involves human participants (such as collection of data through questionnaires or interviews), plants, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), biomedical research, as well as environmental research.

The Committee is registered with the National Health Research Ethics Council (Registration # REC-170616-051)

Chairperson
Prof MA Antwi
Email: antwima@unisa.ac.za

Deputy Chairperson
Dr HA Melville
Email: melviha@unisa.ac.za

Administrator
Ms MJ Van Wyk
Email: vwykmj@unisa.ac.za

Meeting schedule for 2024

Date of meeting Submission deadline
18 January 11 January
15 February 08 February
07 March 29 February
04 April 28 March
02 May 25 April
06 June 30 May
04 July 27 June
01 August 25 July
05 September 29 August
03 October 26 September
31 October 24 October
28 November 21 November

UNISA-CAES Animal Research Ethics Committee:

This Committee reviews applications for research that involves animals.

Chairperson
Dr A Wilson
Email: cheata@unisa.ac.za 

Deputy Chairperson
Prof A Tsotetsi-Khambule
Email: tkhamam@unisa.ac.za 

Administrator
Ms MJ Van Wyk
Email: vwykmj@unisa.ac.za

Meeting schedule for 2024:

Date of meeting Submission deadline
19 January 12 January
16 February 09 February
08 March 01 March
05 April 29 March
03 May 26 April
07 June 31 May
05 July 28 June
02 August 26 July
06 September 30 August
04 October 27 September
01 November 25 October
29 November 22 November

Section 20 permit requirements:

All research projects that involves the use of animals must submit a Section 20 application to the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD):

Research on controlled diseases

If you are doing research on a controlled disease, take note of the following communication from DALRRD on the use of unvalidated tests:

Letter on use of unvalidated tests for controlled disease research

South African National Standard on the care and use of animals for scientific purposes (SANS 10386)

Researchers that will make use of animals in their research is required to familiarise themselves with the SANS 10386 stipulations and to ensure they adhere to these. The SANS 10386 can be accessed through the Unisa library by staff and registered students.

Guide to access SANS 10386

Ethics application procedure:

Unisa has moved to an online application system. All CAES ethics applications should be done on the online platform:

Progress reports for online applications are done on the online application system.

Progress reports for pre-2023 applications must still be submitted manually to the ethics administrator.

Ethics training:

The Unisa Research Integrity Office offers a number of ethics training sessions / workshops throughout the year.

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

Unisa Research Ethics Review Committee (URERC)

Last modified: 2024/05/24