This page is relevant to the
Research, Ethics & Proposal Process for the Professional Master’s (coursework), Academic Master’s & Doctoral Psychology programmes
in the Department of Psychology
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Students registered for either the Master's in Clinical, Counselling or Research In Psychology (coursework), the Academic Master's in Psychology, or the Doctorate in Psychology will follow this Research & Ethics Proposal Process.
1. Structure of Programmes:
- The Professional Master’s in Clinical, Counselling and Research Psychology programmes consist of two parts, namely; coursework and a mini-dissertation (each component contributes 50% towards the degree)
- The Academic Master’s and Doctoral in Psychology programmes (research component only) focus on completing a dissertation or thesis
- The research component can take the form of a dissertation, mini-dissertation, research article or thesis. Click here for the difference between these four formats
- All students in these programmes have to complete a research proposal (links to the templates below) that has to be accepted by the Faculty of Humanities Research Ethics Committee
2. Preparation of Research Proposals
- Once accepted into one of the programmes applied for, a supervisor will be assigned to the student, whereafter the research proposal process commences
- The student starts developing a proposal on one of the official proposal templates with the supervisor’s guidance, as soon as registration has been completed
- Should the student choose to conduct research in the form of a dissertation, mini-dissertation or thesis, the official full proposal template needs to be completed
- Should the student choose to conduct research in the form of an article, the full proposal by article template needs to be completed
- All the proposal templates have guidelines inserted that must be read in conjunction with the Reader Evaluation Form
- The student and supervisor collaborate on the proposal until the supervisor is satisfied that the student can proceed to the next step
- All students must complete the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) for Academic Supervision of Postgraduate (PG) Students within two months of registration, as well as at the beginning of a new year of registration
2a. Links to Official Forms and/or Templates:
The documents (revised in Feb 2025), which you will need to complete as part of your ResEthics Application, will download to your computer when you click on the link, and some might just open in a new page/window as a PDF document:
2b. Research Guidance/Guidelines
Visit the Merensky Library's
"Research Guide" webpage for research assistance and to familiarise yourself with the Department of Psychology's Guidelines (below):
2c. Differences between Article Format, Dissertations, Mini-Dissertations or Doctoral Theses
Information on the differences between completing articles, mini-dissertations, dissertations, or doctoral theses can be accessed
here.
Click here to access the
2025 UP InfoGuide with important information for all new students.
2d. Bursaries, Fees & Funding
Please consult the
UP Fees and Funding webpage for more information and links to available bursaries, as this is not a departmental function.
3. Reader Evaluation
- Refer to the Reader Evaluation Template (above in point 2a)
- The supervisor will submit your proposal to the Departmental Research Committee (ResCom)
- ResCom allocates two readers who have to complete the Reader Evaluation Form within two (2) weeks and send it back to ResCom
- The student and supervisor receive the readers’ comments, implement the changes, and indicate how the reviewers’ comments were addressed on the Reader Evaluation Form
- The student then resubmits the proposal and Reader Evaluation Form to ResCom, who will distribute the revised version and response to the original readers
- The readers will indicate their decision on the form, and if positive, the student may proceed to the next step (presentation of your proposal)
4. Presentation of Proposals
- ResCom will communicate the outcome of the second round of reading to the student and supervisor(s) via email
- If the proposal is accepted unconditionally or with minor revisions, the student may continue to the online presentation stage. In the event of major revisions, the proposal will have to undergo the reader evaluation again until a satisfactory outcome is reached
- The presentation takes place on the Google Group Platform, and the proposal/presentation is available for 5 working days
- Students must email the PowerPoint presentation (refer to point 4b for the guidelines), and the research proposal to ResCom on the Friday before the week of their presentation
- Name the presentation and proposal appropriately to display the following:
- “Surname_Name_uStudent# _Degree_Title_Date” e.g.: "Howard_Anne_u12345678_MAPsych_Egg-in-face_15Mar2024”
4a. PowerPoint presentations must comply with the following guidelines:
- Preferably a voice-over presentation
- PowerPoint slides must be restricted to the following number of slides and/or topics:
- Title Slide (Title, Student Name, Supervisor Name, Degree)
- Problem Statement
- Rationale/Justification
- Brief Background (if not yet mentioned)
- Research Method
- Design
- Sample
- Data Collection
- Analysis
- Ethics
5. Final Approval by ResCom and Submission to Faculty ResEthics
- Students and supervisors will receive a final notice from ResCom on the outcome of the presentation
- If approved, students prepare and submit all documents (proposal, permission letters, consent letters, instruments and the MoA) on the online Faculty Ethics System
- The Faculty Research Ethics (ResEthics) Committee convenes once a month to consider proposals/ethical applications
- Students and supervisors will be advised of the outcome and, if necessary, will be requested to make further changes
- Please read the Research Involving UP Staff & Students document, should you plan on making use of staff or students at UP for your research
- It is also advised to consult the Faculty of Humanities Research Ethics Applications webpage for more information
5a. Process and Forms/Templates to Submit as part of the Faculty ResEthics for Approval:
- Humanities Guide to Completing an Ethics Application
- Approved Student Proposal (templates in point 2a)
- Memorandum of Agreement for Academic Supervision of PG Students (template in point 2a)
- Participant Information Sheet Template (template in point 2a)
- Written Consent Form (template in point 2a)
- Record for Oral Consent Form (template in point 2a)
- Permission Letter(s) from the place/organisation/institution where research will be conducted (if applicable)
- UP Data Management Plan Template (refer to the Data Management weblink under point 2b)
6. Departmental ResCom Enquiries
Contact Mr Armand Luijk at
[email protected] for more information on the ethics and proposal process.
~Information Revised on 04 April 2025~
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