General/Human Research Ethics: Assessment Questions

Please provide your details below before starting the assessment:

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* 1. Name and Surname:

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* 2. Staff / Student Number (if you are not a UFS staff member or student, you can enter "NA"):

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* 3. Department Name (if you are not with a department at UFS, you can enter "NA"):

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* 4. Email Address:

Section 1: Preparing for your GHREC application

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* 5. Before applying for ethical clearance, what must be completed?

Consent from participants

Final report

Scientific review

Data collection

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* 6. Who first reviews the submitted ethics application from students?

RIMS Office

GHREC chair

Supervisor

Faculty reviewer

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* 7. If the supervisor is not satisfied with the application, what can they do?

Discard the application

Submit it directly to GHREC

Forward it to the department anyway

Make comments and return it to the applicant

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* 8. Which of the following is an application type on the ethics form?

Experimental study

Desktop/literature study

Randomised review

Simulation testing

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* 9. What should you consult to ensure that your application is complete?

RIMS email confirmation

NHREC policy

The application checklist

The application outcome video

Section 2: Research design

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* 10. What is the primary purpose of the research design section in an ethics application?

To list academic qualifications

To convince reviewers of funding needs

To explain in a clear and ethical manner how the study will be conducted

To summarise literature

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* 11. Why should your sampling method be clearly explained?

To compare with other universities

To justify who will participate and how they are selected

To inflate your sample size

To satisfy your supervisor

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* 12. Why is it important to clearly describe your population and inclusion/exclusion criteria?

To make the study longer

To ensure that the study targets the right participants

To allow random data selection

To get a waiver

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* 13. What should participants do before data collection begins?

Contact the dean

Review NVivo reports

Give informed consent

Receive funding

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* 14. Which statement best reflects ethical data collection?

Interviews must be done quickly to save time

Participants must consent, and their comfort and safety must be prioritised

Audio recordings can be made without consent

Use any available data to get more results

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* 15. What is one of the most common mistakes students make in the research design section?

Using simple language

Describing their plan in theoretical rather than practical and ethical terms

Explaining sampling

Referencing their consent form

Section 3: Risk type and mitigation

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* 16. What is a risk mitigation strategy for emotional distress?

Delaying debriefing

Providing counselling resources

Avoiding the inclusion of individuals who seem distressed

Ignoring participant concerns

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* 17. What risk mitigation strategy is appropriate for a possible breach of confidentiality?

Implement data encryption and anonymisation

Share all data with faculty

Store data on public servers

Avoid collecting consent

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* 18. When using culturally sensitive topics, what is an appropriate action?

Only interview in groups

Allow participants to skip questions

Enforce all questions

Ask for all personal details

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* 19. What is one way to manage expectations?

Offer rewards

Clearly explain study limitations

Avoid debriefing

Exclude contact details

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* 20. What should be avoided during focus group discussions to ensure confidentiality?

Asking anonymous questions

Collecting feedback

Sharing personal data without ground rules

Providing refreshments

Section 4: POPIA considerations

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* 21. What does POPIA consider ‘personal information’?

Only financial data

Only ID numbers

Information that can identify a person or company

Published research

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* 22. Which of the following is considered special personal information under POPIA?

Employment status

Gender

Religion

Email address

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* 23. Special personal information requires:

Less scrutiny

Additional justification and handling

Online consent only

Sharing with institutions

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* 24. What is one common mistake in demographic data collection?

Not using NVivo

Asking too few questions

Collecting irrelevant demographics

Not recording names

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* 25. At which stage of research is POPIA involved?

Only in qualitative research

Only at publication

Every stage

Only at recruitment

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* 26. What is the best practice for handling research data?

Publish raw data

Store data in multiple folders

Include names in all reports

Anonymise and assign unique identifiers early

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* 27. What happens once data is fully anonymised?

Consent must be renewed

It is no longer useful

POPIA no longer applies

It becomes sensitive

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* 28. Which of these is NOT POPIA-compliant?

UFS OneDrive

MS Teams

Free Google Drive

EVASYS

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* 29. What is third-party data?

Data from literature

Survey results

Information from someone other than the participant

Data from SPSS

Section 5: Attachments to ethics applications

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* 30. Which version of the research proposal must be submitted?

A rough draft

Final version with no track changes or comments

Supervisor’s personal copy

A summary without the methodology

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* 31. Which tense must the methodology section of the proposal use?

Conditional tense

Future tense

Past tense

Present tense

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* 32. How should data collection instruments be labelled?

According to the study title

With anonymous codes

Clearly with method and target group

Alphabetically

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* 33. Why must consent forms be professionally written?

To impress the reviewers

They are public-facing documents and must be clear and respectful

Because students are not allowed to write their own

To comply with NHREC policies

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* 34. What is a gatekeeper approval letter?

A letter from the RIMS office

An unsigned permission slip

An official document from the organisation granting access

A student note

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* 35. What should the gatekeeper letter include?

Participant names

Supervisor’s signature

Official letterhead and a clear permission statement

A confidentiality clause

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* 36. What must be attached as proof that scientific concerns have been addressed?

Supervisor’s email

Draft proposal

Signed scientific review form

Ethics training certificate

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* 37. What happens if the proposal is written in the past tense?

It must be explained in a letter

Nothing, it is just style

It may be rejected as it implies that data collection has begun

It is passed on to the faculty

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* 38. Consent forms must include which of the following?

Data encryption steps

Supervisor’s biography

Purpose of the study and participant rights

Bibliography of references

Section 6: Submission deadlines and post-application process

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* 39. When are GHREC applications reviewed?

Daily

Monthly

Weekly

Quarterly

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* 40. What happens if a student submits their application on the second of a month?

It is reviewed the same day

It is rejected automatically

It is reviewed the following month

It goes to NHREC

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* 41. What must happen for the application to leave the applicant’s inbox?

Supervisor approval

Clicking the ‘Submit’ button and receiving confirmation

Scientific review form attached

Consent forms uploaded

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* 42. What must happen before the first of the month to ensure timely review?

Submission to the POPIA office

The supervisor must approve on RIMS

The decision letter must be printed

The final report must be filed

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* 43. What is the role of the faculty reviewer?

Review submitted data

Evaluate applications before the GHREC meeting

Design recruitment posters

Approve the software used in the analysis

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* 44. When does the GHREC not meet?

June

January

December

March

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* 45. What happens if no confirmation email is received?

The supervisor will call the GHREC Chair

Contact the RIMS Office immediately

Ethics approval is still granted

Nothing changes

Section 7: GHREC outcomes, extensions, and amendments

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* 46. What does ‘Approval’ mean in a GHREC outcome?

The proposal must be rewritten

Participant recruitment has already started

All ethical requirements have been met, and data collection can start

Modifications are still required

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* 47. What does ‘Conditional approval’ mean in a GHREC outcome?

Specific items must be uploaded before approval is granted, and data collection can begin

Participant recruitment can start

Data collection can start

The study must be completed within a month

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* 48. What must be submitted if ‘Conditional approval’ is granted?

Signed consent forms

Missing documentation such as gatekeeper letters

Final report

POPIA certificate

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* 49. What is required when the application is marked ‘Modifications required’?

Publication draft

Data analysis

A completed modification form with clear responses

Supervisor approval

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* 50. What happens if the application is rejected?

Data collection may commence

The supervisor may override the decision

The study may not be conducted

The waiver is automatically issued

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* 51. How long is ethics approval valid?

3 months

As long as it takes to collect the data

12 months

24 months

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* 52. What should be included in a final report?

Bibliography only

Summary of research, complaints, and data disposition

Only the findings

POPIA checklist

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* 53. A waiver is only applicable when:

Participants are anonymous

There is no primary data collection (e.g., desktop study)

Minor risks exist

Research uses online data collection

A minimum score of 70% is required to pass. If you achieve less than 70%, kindly retake the quiz to ensure successful completion.