Ethics Committee for Humanities

As part of efforts to establish a university-wide ethical clearance for research, the Office of Research Innovation and Development (ORID) Management Board approved the establishment of an Ethics Committee for the Humanities (ECH) to oversee and regulate the ethical conduct of research within the disciplines in the humanities at the University of Ghana. The ECH was established in the 2013/14 academic year by ORID in collaboration with the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) and is being hosted by ISSER. 

The Committee currently has (10) members from diverse academic and cultural backgrounds. The background of Committee members includes:

  • Persons with a background in behavioural sciences
  • Persons with a background in social sciences
  • A person with a background in philosophy, ethics or religions
  • A person with a background in Business Studies
  • A legal person
  • A member of the local community


The ECH follows a structured protocol that clearly outlines terms of reference, membership, meetings and criteria for protocol reviews.

The Officers of ECH comprise the Chair, Vice Chair and the Administrator. This body has a permanent Secretariat at ISSER which is manned by the ECH administrator.

ECH Meetings are held on the third Wednesday of each month.

All applicants for ECH clearance must submit the following for consideration:

  • A soft copy of the proposal and all supporting documents (i.e. letters, new protocol submission form, consent form, proposal, workplan, budget, interview guide, questionnaire, CVs, etc.) as one pdf document sent by mail to the Administrator at ech@ug.edu.gh. 
  • CVs of all Investigators with a cover letter signed by the Principal Investigator
  • A cover letter signed by the Supervisor and Head of Department (Applies to Student Investigators only)
  • Investigators (students and researchers) from all other institutions should provide a letter of introduction from collaborating department/faculty within the University of Ghana
  • An Informed Consent Form for Potential Research Participants (Subjects) which can be downloaded from the ISSER website
  • Research Instrument (Questionnaire/Interview guide)

 

Content of Proposal for Ethical clearance

The format for the 10 page full proposal should be as follows:

  • Abstract/Executive Summary (Not more than 250 words)
  • Introduction/Rationale (Not more than 3 pages)
  • Literature Review (Not more than 4 pages)
  • Aims or Objectives of study
  • Methodology (State Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria)
  • Ethical Considerations: (i.e. consent procedures, confidentiality, privacy, risks and benefits, COVID 19 protocols to be observed, etc.)
  • Expected Outcome/Results
  • References
  • Work Plan
  • Budget and Budget Justification

The proposal should not be more than 10 pages excluding references, workplan and budget and must be numbered, font size 12.

ECH Forms to download

  1. New Protocol Submission form 
  2. Continue Review form
  3. Protocol Amendment form
  4. Study Deviation form
  5. Study Closure form
  6. Protocol Consent form
  7. Sample submission letter to ECH
  8. Guardian Consent form
  9. Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)

Note: The forms are revised regularly. Please use the current versions listed above.

University of Ghana Approved Charges for Ethics Committees

Clinical Trials   -$ 750

Protocols         -$ 500

Exempt Category: UG students and faculty members with UG grants (UG funded)

The processes for making payment are as follows:

  1. Contact the Office of Research, Innovation and Development (ORID) Account Office or the appropriate ethics committee where an invoice will be generated.
  2. Proceed to make payment at the designated bank indicated on the invoice or ORID accounts office located at the ground floor of the LECIAD building.
  3. Protocol is then submitted to the appropriate ethics committee with receipt attached for processing and review.


NB: Individuals, international organization and UG-faculty with externally funded grants are not exempted

Prof. Christopher Mate-Kole          Chairperson

Prof. Akosua Darkwa                      Member

Dr. George Essegbey                     Member

Dr. Lawrence Boakye                     Member

Prof. Gordon Adika                           Member

Prof. Peter Quartey                          Member

Rev. Kofi Ankama-Asamoah          Member

Prof. Esther Sakyi-Dawson            Member

Mrs. Rosemond Evans                    Member

Dr. Lily Yarney                                 Member

The Administrator

Ethics Committee for Humanities

ISSER

University of Ghana

Legon

Email:ech@ug.edu.gh

Tel: +233- 303933866