Create an external researcher in ethics

When completing your human ethics application all co-researchers from institutions other than the University of Melbourne, including researchers who are retired, should be listed as an External Researcher. To record an External Researcher in your application, you can select from the existing list (compiled of participants previously recorded in the Themis Research modules) or you can create a new one. Important: to ensure duplicate records are not created, you are required to perform a search for your external researcher before you create the new record.

Search for the external researcher

To search for the external research:

1. Retrieve the appropriate ethics application record and navigate to the Participating Researcher screen.
2. Click on the 'Add Researcher' button. The Search Researchers screen will display.
3. Select the External category of researcher from the drop-down list in the top field.
4. Enter the surname of the researcher for which you are searching in the bottom field.
5. Click on the 'Search' button. A list of researchers matching your search criteria will display in the table below. Note: if no researcher matching your search criteria is returned you may create an external person record for the individual.

Create a new external researcher

To create a new external researcher:

1. Click on the 'Create External' button. The Create External Researcher screen will display.
2. Complete the Personal Details information.

Field	Action
Family name	Enter the participant's family name
Given names	Enter the participant's first name and middle name(s), if known
Title	Enter the participant's title
Gender	Select the appropriate gender from the drop-down list
Email	Enter an email contact address for the participant

3. Complete the Location Details information.

Field	Action	Comment
Department within external organisation	Enter a department, school or research centre	Note: this field is free text
Organisation	Click on the Torch icon and retrieve the appropriate institute from the list of values	This list, maintained by the HR department, contains the majority of tertiary institutions worldwide. Note: the word 'University' has been dropped from most of the names in the list of values (eg: University of Sydney will be listed only as Sydney). You do not need to specify a country when you select an institution as it has already been linked to the institution record. If you do not find your required institution in the list of values, or the academic has retired, use the Other organisation/Retired field to record the appropriate information.
Other organisation/Retired	Enter the name of the alternate institution, or indicate that the participant is retired
Country of Other Institution	Click on the Torch icon and retrieve the appropriate country from the list of values	Use the % wildcard to widen your search (e.g.: if you enter "Aus%" you will retrieve all countries whose name begins with Aus).

4. Click on the 'Save & Continue' button. The Researcher Details screen will display. Note: upon saving the record the new participant will be added to the External Academic Roles table automatically.
   Important: once you select 'Save & Continue' it will not be possible to update any of the above details at a later date. As such, you should take care to check all details before selecting 'Save & Continue'.

Enter the Researcher Details

You must complete the information in the Researcher Details screen for each researcher you add to your ethics application.

5. Enter the researcher details.

Field	Action	Comments
Name	Field will default from the Themis record
Phone number	Field will default from the Themis record
Researcher Role	Select the appropriate role from the dropdown list
Researcher Type	Field will default from the Themis record
Department	Field will default from the Themis record
Centre (if applicable)	Use the Search and Select function to retrieve the appropriate Centre	This field should be left blank if the researcher does not belong to a Centre. Note: the list of available Centres only includes formal University Centres created under Regulation 6.1.R7.
Contact Details fields	Enter alternate contact details if required	Note: these contact details will be stored against the ethics application and will not be available on the person's Themis HR record.
HR Validated Qualifications	This field will display any qualifications that a staff member has entered via Themis Self Service
Additional Qualifications	Enter any additional qualifications not displayed above
Experience and Skills relevant to the project	Enter any experience the researcher has that is relevant to the project	This field is mandatory. In particular, you should describe any experience the researcher or supporting staff has in conducting research of this type and in dealing with any emergencies, unexpected outcomes or contingencies that may arise.
Additional training required	Enter any additional training required to carry out this research	This field is optional. Note: you should include details on how training identified will be provided.
Ethics training already undertaken	Enter details of any ethics training the researcher has undertaken that will benefit this research	This field is mandatory for student researchers.

6. Click on the 'Save & Continue' button. The Participating Researcher screen will display, and the researcher you have added will display in the researcher table.