Formulation of the Research Proposal

In preparing your research proposal, there are several areas to which you should pay particular attention. These are:

• ethical clearance
• intellectual property
• authorship
• resourcing your proposed research support
• whether the research is commercially, culturally, politically or criminally sensitive.

Ethical Clearance

It is important that research projects and practices conform to accepted ethical standards and statutory requirements. Consequently, you are not permitted to commence research involving human or animal subjects, or genetically modified organisms until the required clearances have been obtained.

If your research involves human subjects, you must obtain ethical approval in advance from the University of Adelaide’s Human Research Ethics Committee. All human research participants must comply with the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Research Involving Humans, 2007. The University accepts protocol approval granted by the Ethics Committees of the Royal Adelaide Hospital, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital or the Children, Youth and Women’s Health Service. However, for candidates whose research is conducted (a) at these hospitals and is not supervised by a member of the University’s clinical staff, or (b) at any other institution, ethical clearance must be obtained in advance from the University of Adelaide’s Human Research Ethics Committee, as well as from the committee at the place where the research is to be conducted.

The use of animals is regulated by State legislation and must comply with the Australian Code of Practice for the Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes 7th Edition, 2004 (available at the ethics website). If your research will involve the use of animals, you must obtain ethical approval from the University’s Animal Ethics Committee and, if you are located at an institution outside the University of Adelaide, you will also require ethical clearance from the committee at the place where the research is to be conducted.

A one-day training course is conducted by the Animal Ethics Committee in early March each year to expose new animal users to the ethical questions they are obliged to consider and to provide advice regarding the responsibilities involved. It is recommended that you attend this course if your research is likely to involve the use of animals.

Students whose research will involve genetically modified organisms (GMOs) will need the appropriate approvals from the University of Adelaide Institutional Biosafety Committee and, where necessary, the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator, prior to commencing their research. All dealings with GMOs must comply with the Gene Technology Act 2000 and the associated Gene Technology Regulations 2001. Certain dealings with GMOs must be conducted within physical containment facilities that are certified by the OGTR and students working in these facilities must be trained in the OGTR requirements. Students should also be aware that if they are working in another organisation’s premises or facilities, there is the requirement to meet both the University and the other organisation’s compliance protocols.

The Quarantine Act 1908 regulates the importation of certain material from overseas. Students wishing to import/receive material from overseas need to determine if they require an Import Permit from the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS). Other permits or approvals may also be required as a condition of an import permit and the student must ensure that the appropriate approvals and/or permits are obtained prior to commencing the research work. The conditions listed on the import permit must be met at all times to ensure ongoing compliance with the legislation. In addition, some quarantine risk material must be stored or dealt with in a Quarantine Approved Premise (QAP). Students who work with material subject to quarantine in a QAP need to complete the AQIS required online training to become a “QAP Accredited Person”.

Whilst it is ultimately your principal supervisor’s responsibility to obtain the required ethical clearance(s) for your higher degree project, you will be involved in preparing applications for approval which may involve interaction with the appropriate ethics officer. Further information regarding the requirements and procedures for obtaining ethical approval, is available on the web at:

• Human
  http://www.adelaide.edu.au/ethics/human/
• Animal
  http://www.adelaide.edu.au/ethics/animal/
• GMOs
  http://www.adelaide.edu.au/ethics/genetech/
• Quarantine
  http://www.adelaide.edu.au/ethics/quarantine/

Any required ethics clearances must be arranged by the time you lodge the ‘Core Component of the Structured Program’ form with the Graduate Centre.

See also the ‘Guidelines and Rules for Responsible Practice in Research’, which are provided in Appendix 5 of this Handbook.

Intellectual Property

In the absence of an employment relationship between yourself and the University, you own the intellectual property (IP) generated by your research. However, it is important to remember that any IP you generate will frequently be the product of a complex interaction between you, your supervisor(s) and third parties as part of a research team. For the protection of the rights of all participants, the University requires that you sign a Student Project Participation Agreement (SPPA) to assign your IP rights to the University if you are engaged in research where:

• the IP is likely to have or has commercial potential
• the project builds upon preexisting University IP or
• the project is being carried out for, or in conjunction with, a third party (e.g. a CRC, company, funding body).

It is important to be aware that in most cases, if you choose not to assign your IP to the University, your research proposal will not be approved and you will be asked to choose another project in an area that is not commercially sensitive.

Signing an SPPA ensures that you will share in any benefits arising from the research in the same way as a University staff member. It also means that the expertise within the organisation can be used to protect and service your interests; because of conflict of interest issues, the University is unable to act directly on your behalf until the SPPA has been signed.

When you sign an SPPA, a twelve-month embargo will be placed on both the paper and electronic versions of your thesis from the time of submission. Where necessary, authorisation to extend the period of the embargos will be provided by the Research Education and Development Committee on the advice of Adelaide Research & Innovation (Pty Ltd).

Intellectual property matters are complex and may take time to resolve. To ensure that the approval of your research project is not unduly delayed, you are encouraged to discuss IP with your supervisor(s)/Postgraduate Coordinator at an early stage of candidature and, if necessary, to obtain independent legal advice.

Free legal advice may be available from services listed in the National Pro Bono Resource Centre website at: http://www.nationalprobono.org.au/

Any required commercial and/or confidentiality agreements or contracts and/or the student project participation agreement (SPPA) should be lodged, at the latest, with the "Core Component of the Structured Program" form.

Further information regarding intellectual property, including the University’s policy and the relevant forms is available from the web at: http://www.adelaide.edu.au/graduatecentre/policy/

Authorship

It is advisable to discuss and agree upon the matter of authorship/co-authorship with your supervisors in the early stages of your research project and to revisit the issue as necessary throughout candidature to avoid any misunderstanding that may delay the completion of your research project or publication(s).

In many research projects a number of participants are involved, each undertaking different level tasks: it is acceptable in such circumstances for you to use the data/information derived collectively for publication(s) provided that each person’s contribution is duly acknowledged.

In recognition of the fact that your supervisors contribute to the development of your research by providing direction and guidance and by contributing ideas, it is normally appropriate that they be named as co-authors in publications, providing that each has met all of the following conditions:

(i) conception and design, or analysis and interpretation of data
(ii) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content and
(iii) final approval of the version to be published.

Authorship is discussed in more detail in the relevant section of the "Guidelines and Rules for Responsible Practice in Research" (Appendix 5). You may also refer to the “Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research 2007” which can be found at http://www:nhmrc.gov.au/index.html

Resourcing your Research

In preparing your research proposal, you and your School should consider the minimum resources to which you will require access during your candidature in order to successfully complete your proposed research project. These will be specified in the "Minimum resources Proforma", which forms part of the "Core Component of the Structured Program" form. In addition, your School may provide a fixed amount of money to you each year for research related purposes (e.g. travel, conference and workshop attendances, photocopying, printing, interlibrary loans etc). The agreed sum will be specified on the "Minimum Resources Proforma".

It is important to note that the Proforma is not a legally binding document, but is an undertaking that your School has considered and is able to provide the resources and facilities to which it is expected you will need access during your research. Ongoing resource needs and entitlements are reviewed each year at the time of the annual review.

Commercially, Culturally or Politically Sensitive Research

Notwithstanding the academic community’s general desire for complete openness about all aspects of research, in some cases material must be kept confidential. For example, if you are a health or social science researcher, you may have obtained data from individuals who only agreed to participate in your study provided that nothing was published that would enable them to be identified.

To avoid any problems that may arise in association with the eventual examination, publication of, and access to, your thesis by the public, you are strongly advised to consider whether your research will involve research data or materials that are commercially, culturally or politically sensitive. A question may arise as to whether or not such information, and the sources of such information, should be disclosed to the general public. Additionally, the processes for storage of and access to your research data must be carefully considered to ensure that every effort has been taken to honour the undertaking of confidentiality.

If an embargo on your thesis is likely to be required to protect confidentiality during the examination process and to restrict access to the final print and electronic copies and you have not signed a student project participation agreement, a written application, supported by your supervisors and Postgraduate Coordinator or Head of School should be lodged with the Graduate Centre as early as possible in your candidature. At the very latest, sufficient time must be allowed for applications to be lodged, considered and a decision reached, by the time of thesis submission.

Embargos for the purpose of restricting public access to a thesis are considered exceptional and are generally only allowed on grounds such as:

• pending the results of a patent application or publishing contract
• where the thesis contains commercially, culturally, politically, or criminally sensitive data which the author, with prior approval of the University, had given an undertaking to the sources not to disclose or make public for a limited period of time.

In most instances, the period of embargo approved by the Research Education and Development Committee will be twelve months from the time of submission.

GANTT charts and planning your research

GANTT charts can be useful in illustrating the various stages and activities of research in a candidature, in terms of a schedule to meet timelines. Planning for publications and conferences could be incorporated into the chart. While it is desirable that the chart be flexible enough to allow for revision of timelines, said flexibility should not be seen as an opportunity to justify numerous changes resulting from a student's lack of progress for reasons that were not beyond his/her control.

One example of a GANTT chart is provided in Appendix 7. Obviously it is not possible to include charts to cover all student experiences, but it is hoped that the example provided will be an aid in helping you and your supervisors set appropriate timelines for your candidature.

International Students and Recent Permanent Residents

If you are an international student and you have not been granted an exemption, satisfactory completion of the Core Component of the Structured Program also involves compulsory participation in the Integrated Bridging Program - Research. Domestic students who have held Australian Permanent Residency for less than two years are invited to participate in the program; however attendance is not compulsory.

The Integrated Bridging Program Research (IBP-R)

The IBP-R is an innovative semester-length program designed to help international students and recent permanent residents gain access quickly and effectively to the academic, linguistic and cultural conventions of postgraduate study. If you are an international student or recent permanent resident, the program can assist you to complete your core component, by supporting you in the production of a literature review and a research proposal presented both as an oral presentation and as a written document. In some cases, participation in the IBP-R may extend the timeframe for the completion of your Core Component.

On commencement of your research program, you are requested to contact the IBP Coordinator to discuss how the IBP-R can best contribute to supporting your progress. The Coordinator's details are provided in the contact details section of this Handbook.

Note: if you are research student in the School of Economics, you will complete the "Core Component of the Structured Program" twelve months (or half-time equivalent) from the commencement of candidature. The integrated bridging program (IBP-R) will generally be completed in the second semester following your enrolment.