Hi everyone,
I'm writing regarding the process of ethics applications being reviewed by committees in Ethics Monitor, and the visibility of those reviews to the applicants in the system.
The system allows two ways by which a committee can use the system to review an application:
- the 'Reviews' function (whereby committee members submit their reviews in isolation in the system), or:
- the 'Online Decision' function (where reviewers are able to see and respond to each other's comments, and change their overall recommendation if required).
After running some test applications in the Project Room, it appears that applicants can go in at any time and see the reviews and comments / recommendations left by individual committee members. They do this by going to 'My pending ethics applications' and pressing on the relevant button against their application on the summary screen (either the 'Reviews' button, or Committee Decision under 'Online Decision').
The only comments that reviewers can hide from the applicant are those that they leave on individual sections of the form (by clicking on 'Application', pressing on the speech bubble, and opting to hide their comment from the applicant). Their overall comment which they submit with their recommendation cannot be hidden though.
We are therefore interested as to how other universities use the 'Reviews' and 'Online Decision' functions, especially regarding how committees are able to have frank and open discussions between themselves in the system on applications so that are out of view of the applicant and therefore without having to censor their comments.
Many Thanks,
Matthew
------------------------------
Matthew Connor
Edge Hill University
------------------------------