Before commencing research, permission for the researchers to work in each village was sought from the 'headman' of each village by the research assistant (RA), a twenty-nine year old Venda male, fluent in several languages including Venda and English and intimately familiar with local customs.
In 1979, Don Melrose commenced research at Sydney University in the Centre for Astrophysics.
In the same year, the Australian Radio Research Board (ARRB) was established (White and Huxley 1975), following the British precedent (RRB-UK) which had just commenced research on the ionosphere, now a prestigious and autonomous discipline.
This second article in a series primarily aimed at those commencing research, particularly in the area of ophthalmology and vision science, delineates the interrelated components that are required to complete a research project.
This process occurred over several weeks prior to commencing research and was on-going throughout the duration of the studies.
There are ethical considerations that need to be assessed before commencing research involving a population or group who are often targeted or who have previously participated in research.
Before commencing research, ethics approval was obtained from the University of Alberta Health Research Ethics Board and operational approval was obtained from the Prenatal and Obstetric Clinic and the partner hospital.
Noting the 'futility of commencing research on any small or indefinite sum', as had been the case in previous efforts, the fund's council set a fundraising target of £25,000 (equivalent to £4.2 million in 2010).
CBO's working with SCCY identified priority areas of concern as substance use and sexual and reproductive health, which assisted in informing the research questions for Study 1 and Study 2. We conducted extensive outreach activities with SCCY to build relationships prior to commencing research.
Engaging SCCY in dialogue prior to commencing research upholds the principle of beneficence as it gives them a voice that may otherwise not be heard, and ensures that investigators avoid harm by taking into account their perspectives in relation to participation and procedures.
