LONDON MET RESEARCH ETHICS REVIEW FORM

For Research Students and Staff

Postgraduate research students (MPhil, PhD and Professional Doctorate): This form should be
completed by all research students in full consultation with their supervisor. All research students
must complete a research ethics review form before commencing the research or collecting any
data and no later than six months after enrolment.

Staff: This form should be completed by the member of staff responsible for the research project
(i.e. Principal Investigator and/or grant-holder) in full consultation with any co-investigators,
research students and research staff before commencing the research or collecting any data.

Definition of Research
Research is to be understood as original investigation undertaken in order to gain knowledge and
understanding. It includes work of direct relevance to the needs of commerce, industry, and to the
public and voluntary sectors; scholarship*; the invention and generation of ideas, images,
performances, artefacts including design, where these lead to new or substantially improved
insights; and the use of existing knowledge in experimental development to produce new or
substantially improved materials, devices, products and processes, including design and
construction. It excludes routine testing and routine analysis of materials, components and
processes such as for the maintenance of national standards, as distinct from the development of
new analytical techniques. It also excludes the development of teaching materials that do not
embody original research.”

Scholarship is defined as the creation, development and maintenance of the intellectual

infrastructure of subjects and disciplines, in forms such as dictionaries, scholarly editions,
catalogues and contributions to major research databases.”

London Met’s Research Ethics Policy and Procedures and Code of Good Research Practice, along
with links to research ethics online courses and guidance materials, can be found on the Research
& Postgraduate Office Research Ethics webpage:
http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/research/current-students/research-ethics/

London Met’s Research Framework can be found here:

http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/research/current-students/research-framework/

Researcher development sessions can be found here:

http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/research/current-students/researcher-development-programme/

This form requires the completion of the following three sections:

SECTION A: APPLICANT DETAILS

SECTION B: THE PROJECT - ETHICAL ISSUES
SECTION C: THE PROJECT - RISKS AND BENEFITS

SECTION A: APPLICANT DETAILS

A1 Background information
Research project title:

1 September 2018
 Date of submission for ethics approval:
Proposed start date for project:
Proposed end date for project:
Ethics ID # (to be completed by RERP chair):

A2 Applicant details, if for a research student project

Name:
London Met Email address:

A3 Principal Researcher/Lead Supervisor

Member of staff at London Metropolitan University who is responsible for the proposed
research project either as Principal Investigator/grant-holder or, in the case of postgraduate
research student projects, as Lead Supervisor
Name:
Job title:
London Met Email address:

SECTION B: THE PROJECT - ETHICAL ISSUES

B1 The Research Proposal

Please attach a brief summary (max. 1,000 words) of the research project including:

 Background/rationale and conceptual framework of study

 Research questions/aims/objectives
 Research methodology
 Key references

If you plan to recruit participants, be sure to include information how potential participants in
the study will be identified, approached and recruited; how informed consent will be obtained;
and what measures will be put in place to ensure confidentiality of personal data.

Research Ethics

B2 Please outline any ethical issues that might arise from this study and how they are to be
addressed.

NB All research projects have ethical considerations. Please complete this section as fully as
possible using the following pointers for guidance. Please include any additional information
that you think would be helpful.

 Does the project involve potentially deceiving participants? Yes/No

 Will you be requiring the disclosure of confidential or private information? Yes/No
 Is the project likely to lead to the disclosure of illegal activity or incriminating
information about participants? Yes/No
 Does the project require a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check for the
researcher? Yes/No
 Is the project likely to expose participants to distress of any nature? Yes/No
 Will participants be rewarded for their involvement? Yes/No
 Are there any potential conflicts of interest in this project? Yes/No
 Are there any other potential concerns? Yes/No

If you answered yes to any of the points above, please explain.

Does the proposed research project involve:

B3
 The analysis of existing data, artefacts or performances that are not already in the
public domain (i.e. that are published, freely available or available by subscription)?

2 September 2018
 Yes/No
 The production and/or analysis of physical data (including computer code, physical
entities and/or chemical materials) that might involve potential risks to humans, the
researcher(s) or the University? Yes/No
 The direct or indirect collection of new data from humans or animals? Yes/No
 Sharing of data with other organisations? Yes/No
 Export of data outside the EU? Yes/No

If you answered yes to any of the points above, please explain.

Will the proposed research be conducted in any country outside the UK? If so, are there
B4 independent research ethics regulations and procedures that either:

 Do not recognise research ethics review approval from UK-based research ethics
services? Yes/No
and/or
 Require more detailed applications for research ethics review than would ordinarily be
conducted by the University’s Research Ethics Review Panels and/or other UK-based
research ethics services? Yes/No

If you answered yes to any of the points above, please explain.

Does the proposed research involve:

B5  The collection and/or analysis of body tissues or fluids from humans or animals?
Yes/No
 The administration of any drug, food substance, placebo or invasive procedure to
humans or animals? Yes/No
 Any participants lacking capacity (as defined by the UK Mental Capacity Act 2005)?
Yes/No
 Relationships with any external statutory-, voluntary-, or commercial-sector
organisation(s) that require(s) research ethics approval to be obtained from an
external research ethics committee or the UK National Research Ethics Service (this
includes research involving staff, clients, premises, facilities and data from the UK
National Health Service (NHS), Social Care organisations and some other statutory
public bodies within the UK)? Yes/No

If you answered yes to any of the points above, please contact your school’s RERP
chair for further guidance.

B6 Does the proposed research involve:

 Accessing / storing information (including information on the web) which promotes

extremism or terrorism? Yes/No
 Accessing / storing information which is security sensitive (e.g. for which a security
clearance is required)? Yes/No

If you answered yes to any of the points above, please explain. To comply with the law,
researchers seeking to use information in these categories must have appropriate
protocols in place for the secure access and storage of material. For further guidance,
see the Universities UK publication Oversight of Security Sensitive Research Material
in UK Universities (2012).

SECTION C: THE PROJECT - RISKS AND BENEFITS

C1 Risk Assessment

3 September 2018
 Please outline:

 the risks posed by this project to both researcher and research participants
 if applicable, the risk involved in research abroad
 the ways in which you intend to mitigate these risks
 the benefits of this project to the applicant, participants and any others

Please ensure that you have completed Sections A, B, and C and attached a Research
Proposal before submitting to your School Research Ethics Review Panel (RERP)

Please sign this form and submit it as an email attachment to the Chair of your school’s Research
Ethics Review Panel (RERP) and cc all of the staff and students who will be involved in the
proposed research.

http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/research/current-students/research-ethics/

Research ethics approval can be granted for a maximum of 4 years or for the duration of the
proposed research, whichever is shorter, on the condition that:

 The researcher must inform their school’s Research Ethics Review Panel (RERP) of any
changes to the proposed research that may alter the answers given to the questions in this
form or any related research ethics applications

 The researcher must apply for an extension to their ethics approval if the research project
continues beyond 4 years.

Declaration

I confirm that I have read London Met’s Research Ethics Policy and Procedures and Code of
Good Research Practice and have consulted relevant guidance on ethics in research.

I confirm that, before doing research abroad, I will carry out risk assessment incl. observing
UK Government travel advice (https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice). I will discuss any
concerns with my supervisor.

Researcher signature:……………………………………….

Date:……………………………………………………….……

Feedback from Ethics Review Panel

Approved Feedback where further work required

Section A

4 September 2018
Section B

Section C

Date of approval

NB: The Researcher should be notified of decision within two weeks of the submission of the
application. A copy should be sent to [email protected].

Signature of RERP
chair

5 September 2018