Information for applicants
Ethics Approval of projects conducted with university students
The following are Good Practice Guidelines to be adhered to when carrying out research where students are the participants.
- Formal approval is required before inviting the University’s students to participate in any survey which is not a “University Supported” project. For surveys that will only involve students from within one School, permission should be obtained from the relevant Head of School. For surveys that will involve students from more than one School within a single College, permission should be sought from the Dean of Learning and Teaching of that College. For surveys that will involve a broader cross-section of the student population i.e. from more than one College, permission should be sought from the Clerk of Senate, who will make the decision whether or not to grant permission in consultation with the President of the Students Representative Council. Approvals of this type should be sought prior to submission of the project for ethics approval. Further details can be found on the Senate website under University policy on student surveys.
- Any agreed access to students should be set out in writing by the relevant designated authority as outlined above, with a nominated School/Research Institute contact provided to the Researcher.
- Longitudinal studies: Access should be re-negotiated annually with the Head of College/Clerk of Senate; and participating students should confirm their continuing willingness to be involved in the research.
- Documented ‘permission to access students’ should accompany the ethics application to the College Ethics Committee.
- All students must provide fully informed consent; that is the student is a volunteer and there is full disclosure of information by the researcher to the student.
- The student’s relationship to the researcher is such that informed consent should be obtained through a third party in order to ensure volunteer status.
- The student must be clear on the methods for withdrawing consent for study participation and such a withdrawal should not have any bearing on student progression.
- The Researcher should:
- Gain informed consent through a third party.
- Ensure that confidentiality of data is maintained.
- Not use student matriculation numbers.
- Provide feedback to students on study completion.
- Re-negotiate access with the Head of College/Clerk of Senate on an annual basis in longitudinal studies.
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