UREC2 RESEARCH ETHICS PROFORMA FOR STUDENTS

UNDERTAKING LOW RISK PROJECTS WITH HUMAN

PARTICIPANTS
This form is designed to help students and their supervisors to complete an ethical
scrutiny of proposed research. The University Research Ethics Policy
(https://www.shu.ac.uk/research/excellence/ethics-and-integrity/policies) should be
consulted before completing the form. The initial questions are there to check that
completion of the UREC 2 is appropriate for this study. The final responsibility for ensuring
that ethical research practices are followed rests with the supervisor for student research.

Note that students and staff are responsible for making suitable arrangements to ensure
compliance with the General Data Protection Act (GDPR). This involves informing
participants about the legal basis for the research, including a link to the University
research data privacy statement and providing details of who to complain to if
participants have issues about how their data was handled or how they were treated (full
details in module handbooks). In addition, the act requires data to be kept securely and
the identity of p a r t i c i p a n t s to be anonym ized . They are also responsible for following
SHU guidelines about data encryption and research data management. Guidance can be
found on the SHU Ethics Website https://www.shu.ac.uk/research/excellence/ethics-and-
integrity

Please note that it is mandatory for all students to only store data on their allotted
networked drive space and not on individual hard drives or memory sticks etc.

The present form also enables the University and College to keep a record confirming that
research conducted has been subjected to ethical scrutiny.

The form must be completed by the student and the supervisor and independently
reviewed by a second reviewer or module leader (additional guidance can be obtained from
your College Research Ethics Chair1). In all cases, it should be counter-signed and kept
as a record showing that ethical scrutiny has occurred. Some courses may require
additional scrutiny. Students should retain a copy for inclusion in their research projects,
and a copy should be uploaded to the relevant module Blackboard site.

Please note that it may be necessary to conduct a health and safety risk assessment
for the proposed research (SECTION B). Further information can be obtained from the
University’s Health and Safety Website

SECTION A

1. Checklist questions to ensure that this is the correct form:

Health Related Research within the NHS, or Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service
(HMPPS), or with participants unable to provide informed consent check list.

1
College of Social Sciences and Arts - Dr. Antonia Ypsilanti ([email protected] )
College of Business, Technology and Engineering - Dr. Tony Lynn ([email protected] )
College of Health, Wellbeing and Life Sciences - Dr. Nikki Jordan-Mahy ([email protected] )

Application for Ethics Approval UREC 2- Low risk studies

 Question Yes/No
Does the research involve?
 Patients recruited because of their past or present use of the NHS
No
 Relatives/carers of patients recruited because of their past or present No
use of the NHS
 Access to data, organs, or other bodily material of past or present NHS No
patients
 Foetal material and IVF involving NHS patients No
 The recently dead in NHS premises No
 Prisoners or others within the criminal justice system recruited for No
health-related research
 Police, court officials, prisoners, or others within the criminal justice No
system
 Participants who are unable to provide informed consent due to their No
incapacity even if the project is not health related
 Is this an NHS research project, service evaluation or audit? No
For NHS definitions please see the following website
http://www.hra.nhs.uk/documents/2013/09/defining-research.pdf

If you have answered YES to any of the above questions, then you MUST consult with
your supervisor to obtain research ethics from the appropriate institution outside the
university. This could be from the NHS or Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service
(HMPPS) under their independent Research Governance schemes. Further information is
provided below. https://www.myresearchproject.org.uk/

2. Checks for research with human participants

Question Yes/No
1. Will any of the participants be vulnerable? No
Note: Vulnerable people include children and young people, people with learning
disabilities, people who may be limited by age or sickness, pregnancy, people
researched because of a condition they have, etc. See full definition on ethics website in
the document Code of Practice for Researchers Working with Vulnerable
Populations (under the Supplementary University Polices and Good Research Practice
Guidance)
2. Are drugs, placebos, or other substances (e.g., food substances, vitamins) to be No
administered to the study participants or will the study involve invasive, intrusive,
or potentially harmful procedures of any kind?
3. Will tissue samples (including blood) be obtained from participants? No
4. Is pain or more than mild discomfort likely to result from the study? No
5. Will the study involve prolonged or repetitive testing? No
6. Is there any reasonable and foreseeable risk of physical or emotional harm to any No
of the participants?
Note: Harm may be caused by distressing or intrusive interview questions, uncomfortable
procedures involving the participant, invasion of privacy, topics relating to highly personal
information, topics relating to illegal activity, or topics that are anxiety provoking, etc.

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 Question Yes/No
7. Will anyone be taking part without giving their informed consent? No
8. Is it covert research? No
Note: ‘Covert research’ refers to research that is conducted without the
knowledge of participants.
9. Will the research output allow identification of any individual who has not NO
given their express consent to be identified?

If you have answered YES to any of these questions you are REQUIRED to complete and
submit a UREC3 or UREC4 form. Your supervisor will advise. If you have answered NO to
all these questions, then proceed with this form (UREC2).

3. General project details

Details

Name of student

SHU email address

Department/College Sheffield Hallam

Name of supervisor

Supervisor’s email address

Title of proposed research The role of social media platforms on tourism destination choice
Proposed start date 12/10/2021
Proposed end date 13/01/2021
Background to the study and Qualitative research that adopt an inductive style and approach to
the rationale (reasons) for determine and identify social media role by analysing how social
undertaking the research (500 media platforms impact tourism destination choices are few and
words)
limited. Therefore, using questionnaire survey, the research aims at
identifying the roles and parts that social media platforms played in
travelers’ choice of destination. The reason for the research is to
analyze the role of social media platforms in the selection of tourist
destinations, which is of great significance to the development of the
tourism industry.

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 Details

Aims & research question(s) The aim of the study is to assess social media platforms’ role on
tourists’ destination choice. To do so, the research proposes three key
research questions:

i. What part do social media platforms play in

tourists’ decision-making process ahead of
physical travel?
ii. Why do individuals opt to browse social media
platforms to determine and decide their travel
destination?
iii. What role do social media platforms play in
forming insights and perceptions of tourism
destinations based upon the traveler’s
experience following the end of physical
travel?

Methods to be used for:

1. Recruitment of participants Recruited on the Internet through social media, WeChat and email
invitations. They will comprise 10 friends with travel experience or
want to traveling.

2. Data collection Regarding data collection, I will distribute online questionnaires to my

friends who are study participants with travel experience manually via
email, WeChat and social media provided they agree to participate in
the research after signing the consent form. Thus, the questionnaire
will be emailed to 10 participants to gather statistical information
concerning their use of social media platforms to decide their tourism
destination choice. The research adopts a qualitative approach where
the qualitative questions provide a box in which participants can write
within their own words. The study participants comprise working
professionals with travel experience.

3. Data analysis Regarding data analysis, the research will employ a thematic
approach, which points out, analyses as well as report patterns or
themes in data gathered online. Thematic analysis is pivotal since it a
technique for identifying, analysing as well as interpreting themes in
qualitative information, which is a method unlimited by theoretical
dedications.

Outline the nature of the data The data is qualitative in nature. Regarding anonymisation details, all
held, details of anonymisation, personal identifiers will be removed, which may result in a person
storage and disposal procedures

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 Details

as required. being identified. Data will be stored in the University’s cloud-based

storage alternatives. Regarding data disposal, papers will be shredded
while electronic files with personal data will be erased.

4. Research in external organizations

Question Yes/No
1. Will the research involve working with/within an external organization (e.g., No
school, business, charity, museum, government department, international
agency, etc.)?
2. If you answered YES to question 1, do you have granted access to conduct the No
research from the external organization?
If YES, students please show evidence to your supervisor. You should retain this
evidence safely.
3. If you do not have permission for access is this A
because:
A. you have not yet asked
B. you have asked and not yet received an answer
C. you have asked and been refused access.
Note: You will only be able to start the research when you have been granted access.

5. Research with products and artefacts

Question Yes/No
1. Will the research involve working with copyrighted documents, films, NO
broadcasts, photographs, artworks, designs, products, programs, databases,
networks, processes, existing datasets, or secure data?

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 Question Yes/No
2. If you answered YES to question 1, are the materials you intend to use in the public No
domain?
Notes: ‘In the public domain’ does not mean the same thing as ‘publicly accessible’.
• Information which is 'in the public domain' is no longer protected by copyright (i.e.,
copyright has either expired or been waived) and can be used without permission.
• Information which is 'publicly accessible' (e.g., TV broadcasts, websites, artworks,
newspapers) is available for anyone to consult/view. It is still protected by copyright
even if there is no copyright notice. In UK law, copyright protection is automatic and
does not require a copyright statement, although it is always good practice to provide
one. It is necessary to check the terms and conditions of use to find out exactly how the
material may be reused etc.
If you answered YES to question 1, be aware that you may need to consider other
ethics codes. For example, when conducting Internet research, consult the code of
the Association of Internet Researchers; for educational research, consult the Code of
Ethics of the British Educational Research Association.

3. If you answered NO to question 2, do you have explicit permission to use these NO

materials as data?
If YES, please show evidence to your supervisor.

4. If you answered NO to question 3, is it because: A

A. you have not yet asked permission
B. you have asked and not yet received and answer
C. you have asked and been refused access.
Note You will only be able to start the research when you have been granted
permission to use the specified material.

SECTION B

HEALTH AND SAFETY RISK ASSESSMENT FOR THE RESEARCHER

1. Does this research project require a health and safety risk assessment for the
procedures to be used? Discuss this with your supervisor and consult the Risk
Assessment Toolkit for teaching research.

Yes
✓ No

(If YES the completed Health and Safety Risk Assessment form should be attached).
You can find a Blank/Sample Risk Assessment Form at the Checklist, Generic and
TORS Risk Assessments on the Risk Assessment Toolkit

2. Will the data be collected fully online (no face-to-face contact with participants)?

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 ✓ Yes (See the safety guidance for online research2 and go to question 8b).
No (Go to question 3)

3. Will the proposed data collection take place on campus?

Yes (Please answer questions 5 to 8)

No (Please complete all questions and consult with your supervisor or
HoD for current guidance and permission for face-to-face research
outside the university)

4. Where will the data collection take place?

(Tick as many as apply if data collection will take place in multiple venues)

Location Please specify

Researcher's Residence      
Participant's Residence
Education Establishment      
Other e.g., business/voluntary      Travel agencies and
organisation, public venue organisations
Outside UK      

5. If face-to-face contact with participants is required for your study? Please

stipulate below how you will comply with any government requirements related to
Covid-19 and social distancing or other limitations on contact.

6. How will you travel to and from the data collection venue?

On foot By car Public Transport

Other (Please specify)      

Please outline how you will ensure your personal safety when travelling to and from
the data collection venue (include any Covid-19 related precautions)

7. How will you ensure your own personal safety whilst at the research venue?

2
Safety guidance for online research includes information on how to set up online surveys
and/or conduct online interviews/focus groups. These guidelines can be found in BB. Please
check with your supervisor/module leader.

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8. Are there any potential risks to your health and wellbeing associated with either (a)
the venue where the research will take place and/or (b) the research topic itself?

✓ None that I am aware of

Yes (Please outline below including steps taken to minimise risk)

9. If you are carrying out research off-campus, you must ensure that each time you go
out to collect data you ensure that someone you trust knows where you are going
(without breaching the confidentiality of your participants), how you are getting
there (preferably including your travel route), when you expect to get back, and
what to do should you not return at the specified time.

Please outline here the procedure you propose using to do this.

Data is collected via email, so there will be no face-to-face with participants. I can
complete this step in the dormitory, so there is no such thing as being unable to return at
the specified time.

Adherence to SHU policy and procedures

Ethics sign-off
Personal statement
I can confirm that:
 I have read the Sheffield Hallam University Research Ethics Policy and Procedures
 I agree to abide by its principles.

Student
Name: Date:25/10/2021
Signature:

Supervisor or another person giving ethical sign-off

I can confirm that completion of this form has not identified the need for ethical approval by the
TPREC/CREC or an NHS, Social Care, or other external REC. The research will not commence
until any approvals required under Sections 4 & 5 have been received and any necessary health
and safety measures are in place.
Name: Date:

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Ethics sign-off
Signature:

Additional Signature if required by course leader:

Name: Date:
Signature:

Please ensure that you have attached all relevant documents. Your supervisor
must approve them before you start data collection :
Documents Yes No N/A
Research proposal if prepared previously

Any recruitment materials (e.g., posters, letters, emails, etc.)

Participant information sheet3

Participant consent form4

Details of measures to be used (e.g., questionnaires, etc.)

Outline interview schedule / focus group schedule

Debriefing materials

Health and Safety Risk Assessment Form

3
It is mandatory to attach the Participant Information Sheet (PIS)
4
It is mandatory to attach a Participant Consent Form, unless it is embedded in an online survey, in
which case your supervisor must approve it before you start data collection

Application for Ethics Approval UREC 2- Low risk studies