Scholarship for Learning & Teaching
SoTL Ethics Committee
Co-Chairs
Dr Sarah Honeychurch, Academic and Digital Development
Dr Carole Macdiarmid, College of Arts and Humanities
Members
Dr Carolina Kuepper-Tetzel, College of MVLS
Dr Linnea Soler, College of Science and Engineering
Professor Jo Edson Ferrie, College of Social Sciences
Dr Nathalie Tasler, University Services
Reviewers
We have a pool of reviewers from across the colleges and university services.
Application Process
Submission
Do I need to submit an ethics application?
If you are conducting any research involving human subjects or materials or data not in the public domain, you should apply for ethical approval.
How to submit
Submission is currently via a Microsoft form which includes links to templates for the accompanying forms. Please contact the SoTL Ethics Committee via our email inbox.
What to submit
The application form will ask you for details of your SoTL project in the following areas:
- Methodology
- Participants
- Health and Safety
- Anonymity and Confidentiality
- Consent/Agreement
- Data Management
At the end of this form you will find a link to a SharePoint folder that contains templates for Participant Information and Privacy Sheet, Participant Agreement (Consent) Sheet, and Participant Debrief Sheet. You will need to complete these and upload them along with your application form. If you are intending to use surveys, interviews or focus groups in your project you will also be asked to upload drafts of survey/questionnaire questions and sample questions for focus groups/interviews along with your application.
You should also complete a Data Management Plan and upload it along with your application. The SoTL Ethics Committee will not review this document, but will record that it has been uploaded with the application.
Depending on the nature of your research project, you may also have to supply a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA). The SoTL Ethics Committee will not review this document, but will record that it has been uploaded with the application.
Amendments
If you need to request an amendment to your application, for example to change the date of data collection, add or remove a project member or make changes to your approved methods, please contact us via our email address to request a link to the amendments form.
Guidance
We are currently finalising guidance for applicants and will add a link to this once it is published.
Review Process
When you submit your application we will allocate it to a lead reviewer, who will be a member of the SoTL Ethics Committee. The lead reviewer will allocate two reviewers to review your application. Each reviewer complete their review on the reviewer response form and make a recommendation. When both reviewers have completed their reviews, the lead reviewer will summarise the comments and email the reviewer response form to you via the SoTL Ethics inbox along with the decision and the names of all of the reviewers.
We aim to complete the reviews and return them to you within three weeks of submission of your application.
Review Criteria
Reviewers are asked to review applications according to the following criteria and provide feedback as necessary:
- Clear project aims and methodology
- Ethical issues
- Risks and mitigation
- Data management
- Accompanying materials
Review Decisions
We will review and return your application, along with one of the following outcomes.
| Outcome | Explanation |
|---|---|
|
Approval / conditional approval |
Apart from the odd spelling mistake, the application and related materials are satisfactory. All pertinent issues have been addressed. In cases of conditional approval, there will typically be some minor issues identified, with approval subject to those points being noted/ incorporated, with confirmation via email to the Lead Reviewer. |
|
Minor changes |
The application and materials are generally adequate in terms of their identification, assessment and proposed handling of ethical issues and risks, but there are minor inconsistencies or points that need to be addressed. The revised materials will be checked by the lead reviewer only. |
|
Major changes |
The project is potentially viable but there are significant problems relating to the identification, assessment and proposed handling of ethical issues and risks. Significant reworking of accompanying materials and/or overall conceptualisation/ design may well be required. The revised application will be recirculated to ALL original reviewers. |
| Rejection | The application is not adequate and/or the project as formulated carries a high risk of significant harm to subjects and/or investigator. |
Appeals
Applicants who are dissatisfied with the decision made by the SoTL Ethics Committee should in the first instance discuss the matter with the SoTL Ethics Co-Chairs. If discussion is unable to resolve the issue satisfactorily, an appeal may be made to the University Ethics Committee.