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?

Data collection

Scientific review

Final report

Consent from participants

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

Faculty reviewer

Supervisor

GHREC chair

RIMS Office

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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?

Simulation testing

Randomised review

Desktop/literature study

Experimental study

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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?

Receive funding

Give informed consent

Review NVivo reports

Contact the dean

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* 14. Which statement best reflects ethical data collection?

Use any available data to get more results

Audio recordings can be made without consent

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

Interviews must be done quickly to save time

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

Referencing their consent form

Explaining sampling

Describing their plan in theoretical rather than practical and ethical terms

Using simple language

Section 3: Risk type and mitigation

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

Ignoring participant concerns

Avoiding the inclusion of individuals who seem distressed

Providing counselling resources

Delaying debriefing

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

Avoid collecting consent

Store data on public servers

Share all data with faculty

Implement data encryption and anonymisation

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

Ask for all personal details

Enforce all questions

Allow participants to skip questions

Only interview in groups

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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?

Providing refreshments

Sharing personal data without ground rules

Collecting feedback

Asking anonymous questions

Section 4: POPIA considerations

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

Published research

Information that can identify a person or company

Only ID numbers

Only financial data

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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:

Sharing with institutions

Online consent only

Additional justification and handling

Less scrutiny

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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 at recruitment

Every stage

Only at publication

Only in qualitative research

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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?

It becomes sensitive

POPIA no longer applies

It is no longer useful

Consent must be renewed

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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?

Present tense

Past tense

Future tense

Conditional tense

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* 32. How should data collection instruments be labelled?

Alphabetically

Clearly with method and target group

With anonymous codes

According to the study title

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* 33. Why must consent forms be professionally written?

To comply with NHREC policies

Because students are not allowed to write their own

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

To impress the reviewers

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* 34. What is a gatekeeper approval letter?

A student note

An official document from the organisation granting access

An unsigned permission slip

A letter from the RIMS office

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* 35. What should the gatekeeper letter include?

A confidentiality clause

Official letterhead and a clear permission statement

Supervisor’s signature

Participant names

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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 is passed on to the faculty

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

Nothing, it is just style

It must be explained in a letter

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

Bibliography of references

Purpose of the study and participant rights

Supervisor’s biography

Data encryption steps

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 goes to NHREC

It is reviewed the following month

It is rejected automatically

It is reviewed the same day

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

Consent forms uploaded

Scientific review form attached

Clicking the ‘Submit’ button and receiving confirmation

Supervisor approval

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

The final report must be filed

The decision letter must be printed

The supervisor must approve on RIMS

Submission to the POPIA office

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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?

Nothing changes

Ethics approval is still granted

Contact the RIMS Office immediately

The supervisor will call the GHREC Chair

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?

The study must be completed within a month

Data collection can start

Participant recruitment can start

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

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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’?

Supervisor approval

A completed modification form with clear responses

Data analysis

Publication draft

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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.