Research protocol checklist

May 2024

Download Research protocol checklist PDF

Australia’s Human Research Ethics Committees (HRECs) are required to assess research applications according to National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (2023). These are also to be used by other bodies reviewing research.

The tables below summarise key ethical research requirements identified in the National Statement that achieve the values of the National Statement. They serve as a basic checklist to ensure that items are included in content of research protocols/proposals. The National Statement includes over 200 statements on requirements of research, including about consent, research design and conduct, governance and review, and considerations for specific populations.

Statements from the NHMRC’s Ethical conduct in research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and communities: Guidelines for researchers and stakeholders (2018) are included below; a 2-3 paragraph response to each guideline is generally expected by research reviewers.

Ethical requirements for research among people in criminal legal system custody are also included below.

We acknowledge the support of the Justice Health and Forensic Mental Health Network and the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council of NSW (AH&MRC) to develop this document.

Research merit and integrity

Unless proposed research has merit, and the researchers who are to carry out the research have integrity, the involvement of human participants in the research cannot be ethically justifiable. (NHMRC, 2023, p. 9)

Justice

Justice involves a regard for the human sameness that each person shares with every other. Human beings have a deep need to be treated in accordance with such justice, which includes distributive justice and procedural justice. (NHMRC, 2023, p. 9)

Beneficence

Researchers exercise beneficence in several ways: in assessing and taking account of the risks of harm and the potential benefits of research to participants and to the wider community; in being sensitive to the welfare and interests of people involved in their research; and in reflecting on the social and cultural implications of their work. (NHMRC, 2023, p. 9)

Respect

Respect for human beings is the common thread through all the discussions of ethical values. (NHMRC, 2023, p. 9)

Guidelines respecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

Six core values – spirit and integrity, cultural continuity, equity, reciprocity, respect, and responsibility – are important to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. They ensure all human research undertaken with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities:

respects the shared values of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
is relevant for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander priorities, needs and aspirations
develops long-term ethical relationships among researchers, institutions and sponsors
develops best practice ethical standards of research. (NHMRC, 2018, p. 3)

For people in custody

Recommended citation

Williams, M. & Ragg, M. (2023). Research protocol checklist. Yulang Indigenous Evaluation. https://yulang.com.au/starburst-indigenous-evaluations/research-protocol-checklist/

References

National Health and Medical Research Council. (2023). National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved from https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/about-us/publications/national-statement-ethical-conduct-human-research-2023

National Health and Medical Research Council. (2018). Ethical conduct in research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and communities: Guidelines for researchers and stakeholders. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved from https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/about-us/resources/ethical-conduct-research-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-peoples-and-communities

Authors

Megan Williams Megan Williams PhD is Wiradjuri through her father’s family and has more than 20 …

Mark Ragg Mark Ragg is a non-Indigenous man from Sydney who brings to bear experience from …

The way we work

About rights, we rely on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous peoples’ cultural and intellectual property rights, research ethics, and legislation about work health and safety, including cultural safety.

About Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, we actively work with mobs’ holistic concept of health and wellbeing – all the social, physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and environmental elements of life that affect individuals, families, communities, workforces, services, sectors and systems at which change is required. We are strengths-based, addressing deficit discourse, bias and racism. We are healing informed and trauma aware, and work on culturally relevant measures for success. Being community-led where possible we act in accordance with local protocols and ways of knowing, being, and doing. Respecting the diversity within and between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, we also think intergenerationally, being accountable by sharing knowledges and tools for others’ benefit.

About collaboration, we develop shared agreements to guide our work, often using tools we have developed for transparency and power-sharing. We often work in action cycles, to share insights early, adapt to change, and generate outcomes that partners can use to guide their ongoing work.

Get in touch

Megan Williams Megan Williams PhD is Wiradjuri through her father’s family and has more than 20 …

Mark Ragg Mark Ragg is a non-Indigenous man from Sydney who brings to bear experience from …