Faculty Research Ethics Committee
The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and СʪÃÃÊÓƵ Management School have a joint Research Ethics Committee (FASS-LUMS REC) that oversees the ethical review of proposed research in all Departments of both Faculties.
All colleagues and students intending to submit an application for ethics approval to the FASS-LUMS REC are strongly advised to read through the information contained on this site before completing and submitting their application.
FASS-LUMS Research Ethics Committee guidance Accordion
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Introduction
Introduction
The University is committed to ensuring that all research, and in particular, studies involving human participants, are conducted in a way that respects the dignity, rights, and welfare of participants, and which minimises risks to participants, researchers, third parties, and to the University itself.
All research conducted by staff and students from СʪÃÃÊÓƵ needs to adhere to the ethical standards set out in the University’s and in accordance with research ethics guidelines specified by the research councils (RCUK), by funding bodies such as the ESRC and by relevant subject-specific professional organisations.
Before submitting an ethics application, you will need to do a health and safety risk assessment, if appropriate. Carrying out risk assessments are under the remit of the . If you need assistance with completing a risk assessment, you should contact your Area Safety Officer if you are a member of staff and your supervisor if you are an MPhil/PhD student.
The University has an agreed procedure for supporting students and staff in considering ethical issues in relation to their research. All СʪÃÃÊÓƵ researchers (staff and students working on funded and non-funded projects), in particular those who conduct studies involving human participants and personal data, need to submit their project for ethics review and seek ethics approval for their research. Staff, PhD and MPhil students should use REAMS, the University's online system, to determine the level of ethical review required for their research. To note, ethical approval must be obtained in writing from the FASS-LUMS Research Ethics Committee before the research activity begins (e.g. before participant recruitment, data collection, data analysis, etc.). If you are uncertain whether your study requires ethical review or not, please log on to REAMS and answer the initial questions. For additional guidance refer to the section below on 'How to apply' or contact the Research Ethics Officer, fass.lumsethics@lancaster.ac.uk.
Ethics applications are dealt with by Faculty-based Research Ethics Committees. The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and the Management School have a joint Research Ethics Committee. The FASS-LUMS Research Ethics Committee (FASS-LUMS REC)is responsible for setting standards for research ethics within the two Faculties. The REC considers and reviews ethics applications from staff, PhD students and MPhil students for funded and non-funded research projects. However, if you are applying for NHS sponsorship, you should also follow the NHS sponsorship guidance because some projects involving the NHS are required to go through a different route for ethical approval. For further information about projects which involve the NHS and 'sponsorship' (also known as 'IRAS applications') contact the Clinical Research Governance Officers, sponsorship@lancaster.ac.uk and the Research Ethics Officer, fass.lumsethics@lancaster.ac.uk. Ethics applications by Undergraduate and Master's students are dealt with at departmental level; if you are an Undergraduate or Master's student, you should contact your department for further information.
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Announcements
Announcements
Easter closure
The University will be closed from 28th March 2024 and will reopen on 4th April 2024. Ethics applications will not be reviewed during this time. Please keep in mind that the University closure and staff annual leave commitments may mean that ethics applications will take longer to process around this time.
Summer vacation
It can take longer to review ethics applications during the summer months due to staff leave commitments. Therefore, please help us to help you and allow extra time for your application to be fully processed and reviewed in the summer.
Impact of Covid-19
Before submitting a new ethics application or an amendment to an existing ethics application for review, please read the University's guidance on the impact of Covid-19. For additional help with research and ethical considerations during the pandemic, you may find this document useful: Guidance on ethical considerations v3?.
Christmas break
Please note the University will be closed during the Christmas break each year from the end of December to the beginning of January, and ethics applications will not be processed during this time. Please help the Committee to help you; if your ethics application needs to be reviewed before Christmas, please allow plenty of time for the review process (typically about six weeks) and avoid sending 'last minute applications'.
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Important Application Advice
Important Application Advice
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Members of the Ethics Committee may not necessarily be from your subject area or department. Therefore keep language free from jargon and explain all acronyms used in your application.
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Be specific. Clearly explain your research question, the aim(s) of your research and your methodology on your ethics application form in REAMS.
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Build research ethics into your study design. You can start an ethics application in REAMS at any time and use the guidance on the application form to help you to think about ethical issues that might apply to your research even when your research is in the 'design stage'. The Ethics Committee will not be able to see your application in REAMS until you submit it, so you can change it many times before it is submitted to the Committee for ethics review.
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Good research practice is to keep your research participants in mind at each stage and consider the short and long-term consequences of participation.
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Centre the participants’ safety and wellbeing at the heart of your study. Consider what they are contributing to the study beyond their data. For example, if participation in your research is likely to cause distress to participants, have you got a distress protocol in place? Have you explained on your ethics application form in REAMS how distress or any other risks will be mitigated?
- If your research project will involve human participants, you may wish to prepare your participant information sheet(s) and consent form(s) before you complete your ethics application in REAMS because they will need to be uploaded in REAMS. The Committee strongly recommends that you use the template participant information sheet in the 'Document and Templates' section below, which you can adapt for your research.
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Carefully consider whether your participant information sheet provides participants with enough information to enable them to make an informed decision on whether or not to participate in your research. Does it explain the study in language which participants can easily understand? Does it clearly explain any terminology?
- Projects involving social media and participants recruited or identified through the Internet require full ethics review (the Committee is following ESRC and other guidelines on this). Additionally, full ethics review is required when understanding of privacy in these settings is contentious or where sensitive issues are discussed; and where quotes and visual images the researcher intends to use may be identifiable. For example, as part of your study, you may be using data from an online context that is publicly available, but this does not mean that the participants/members of this context also perceive it to be public. For more advice on the ethics of internet research, see Association of Internet Researchers, ethical decision making and internet research, . Any study involving online interviews, online ethnography or any other use of data from private or semi-private internet sources is considered to involve contact with human participants and, therefore, needs a full ethics review. Please read the 'Guidance on using social media for research' and Social media quick guide for important information to consider when designing your research and before you apply for ethics approval.
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How to apply
How to apply
Guidance for staff, PhD and MPhil student research projects (funded and non-funded).
Staff, PhD and MPhil students must submit their ethics applications in REAMS, the University’s Research Ethics Application Management System. Exceptions to this are ethics applications that require NHS Research Ethics Committee approval and 'NHS' sponsorship from СʪÃÃÊÓƵ (these are sometimes known as 'IRAS applications'); because some projects involving the NHS are required to go through a different route for ethical approval. Further guidance is accessible from this link, NHS sponsorship guidance. Before you submit this type of ethics application, please contact the Clinical Research Governance Officers, sponsorship@lancaster.ac.uk and the FASS-LUMS Research Ethics Officer, fass.lumsethics@lancaster.ac.uk for further guidance if needed.
A) How to submit an application to the FASS-LUMS Research Ethics Committee (FASS-LUMS REC) in REAMS
To submit your ethics application, login to REAMS. Whether your study is externally funded or not, your project needs to be approved, in writing, by the FASS-LUMS REC before the data collection and research activity begins. For all sections of the ethics application form, be specific and concise in the information you provide. The reviewers on the Ethics Committee are academics from the different departments in FASS and LUMS. They will not necessarily be from your subject area or discipline, so make sure you explain subject-specific terminology and be as clear as you can when completing your ethics application.
Additional documents
In addition to completing the application form in REAMS, you will need to upload all research materials of direct relevance to your application, such as, but not limited to:
- Advertising materials (posters, e-mails)
- Letters of invitation to participate
- Participant Information Sheets
- Consent Forms
- Data collection materials such as interview questions, questionnaires/survey questions, workshop guides, focus group scripts, demographic sheets.
- Debrief sheets
The FASS-LUMS Research Ethics Committee has prepared a participant information sheet and consent form, which all applicants are invited to use. If you will employ a transcriber, for example to transcribe audio-recorded interviews, they will need to sign a Confidentiality Agreement. A sample Confidentiality Agreement can be found below. The Committee recommends that you use these templates, which you can adapt for your research project. If your participants include people with a learning disability, your information sheet and consent form should include pictorial representations of the information you are trying to communicate.
- Sample Participant Information Sheet
- Sample Consent Form
- Sample verbal consent protocol
- Confidentiality agreement for transcribers
Projects reviewed and approved by another organisation’s Research Ethics Committee require a review by the FASS-LUMS Research Ethics Committee before research commences to comply with СʪÃÃÊÓƵ's requirements. For example, if a СʪÃÃÊÓƵ researcher is a co-investigator on a research team and a member of the research team from another university has obtained ethical approval for the research project; the СʪÃÃÊÓƵ researcher must also submit an ethics application to the FASS-LUMS Research Ethics Committee through REAMS. This type of ethics application is known as an 'application with external approval' and it is usually reviewed by the Committee's Chair or Deputy Chair. For this type of application, in REAMS, you will need to upload: a copy of the 'external' ethics application that the other university/organisation approved and all supporting documents (e.g. participant information sheet, consent form, interview questions, questionnaires, etc.) and a written copy of the approval letter/email. If you need any more information about this, please contact the Research Ethics Officer for further guidance. Email fass.lumsethics@lancaster.ac.uk.
B) What level of review is required for my project?
To determine what level of ethics review your project requires, you should log in to REAMS. REAMS has some preliminary questions to determine whether ethical review is needed and/or the level of review that is needed. If you are still unsure about whether your research needs ethical review, please contact the Research Ethics Officer at fass.lumsethics@lancaster.ac.uk. As a guide, please consider this question:
Does your research project involve any of the following (1-9)?
- Human participants (including all types of interviews, questionnaires, focus groups, records relating to humans, use of internet or other secondary data, observation, etc.)
- Animals - the term animals shall be taken to include any non-human vertebrates, cephalopods or decapod crustaceans. If your research involves animals, you will need to gain approval for your research project via the Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body (AWERB). Refer to the Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body webpages and contact the secretary to AWERB, Lucy Sanderson for further details. Applications for research involving animals only do not need to be submitted in REAMS. However, research involving animals plus any other risk factors, including but not limited to human participants, will need to be submitted to both AWERB (for the animal strand) and to the FASS-LUMS Research Ethics Committee via REAMS (for the rest of the research).
- Risk to members of the research team, e.g. lone working, travel to areas where researchers may be at risk, including at risk of emotional distress
- Human cells or tissues other than those established in laboratory cultures
- Risk to the environment
- Conflict of interest
- Research or a funding source that could be considered controversial
- Social media and/or data from internet sources that could be considered private
- Any other ethical considerations
If you have answered 'Yes' to any of the above (1-9) you will need to submit an ethics application to the FASS-LUMS Research Ethics Committee for review. If you are not sure whether your project requires ethics review you should login into REAMS which will guide you. If you need more information about this and/or assistance, please contact the Research Ethics Officer, Debbie Knight, at fass.lumsethics@lancaster.ac.uk.
C) What happens next?
You can submit an ethics application at any time. When you submit an ethics application in REAMS you will receive an automatic email to acknowledge receipt of the application. To note, if you are a PhD student or an MPhil student you will need to request your supervisor's signature in REAMS. Your application will not be submitted to the Committee for review until your supervisor has signed it in REAMS, and you will receive an automatic email to acknowledge receipt of the application when both your and your supervisor have signed the application in REAMS.
Depending on their level of risk, research projects involving human participants submitted to the FASS-LUMS REC will be reviewed by either one or two reviewers from the REC. The reviewer(s) will provide comments and feedback on the application form in REAMS, and they may ask for any clarification of your application if needed.
Depending on the research project's complexity and the ethical issues it raises, your application may be discussed by the full committee at one of its monthly meetings, and you may be asked to attend the meeting. The Research Ethics Officer will contact you if your application will be discussed at a committee meeting. Please ensure you are available to attend the meeting if required to do so. Committee meeting dates are listed below on the 'Committee Calendar' tab.
Projects submitted to the FASS-LUMS REC through REAMS which involve existing data only or the evaluation of an existing project with no direct contact with human participants will usually be processed by Chair’s action.
If you have any questions about the ethics review process, please contact the Research Ethics Officer, Debbie Knight, at fass.lumsethics@lancaster.ac.uk.?? For enquiries relating to the REAMS system, please email reams-support@lancaster.ac.uk.
Help and support
Further information is available on the 'Additional Information and Guidance' tab below.
For any questions about the logistics of the application process or other questions about ethical issues in relation to your research, please contact the Research Ethics Officer, Debbie Knight, fass.lumsethics@lancaster.ac.uk, office address: Room D22, FASS Building, СʪÃÃÊÓƵ. For technical queries relating to the REAMS system please email reams-support@lancaster.ac.uk.
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Research involving the NHS
If you are applying for NHS sponsorship you should follow the NHS sponsorship guidance. All other applicants (staff and PhD/MPhil students) should continue to submit their ethics applications to the FASS-LUMS Research Ethics Committee in the usual way by following the guidance on the ¡®How to apply’ section of this webpage; or if you are an Educational Research PhD student follow the guidance in the ¡®Important Application notes section’.
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Amendments to previously approved projects
If, after an ethics application has been approved, the design of a research project changes the researcher should apply to the FASS-LUMS REC for further ethics review and approval by submitting an amendment in REAMS before any proposed changes are implemented. (For example, if alternative or additional research methods will be used or the sample population changes). For further information about changes and submitting amendments to the Committee for review please follow the guidance on the webpage.
If you are unsure about whether your proposed changes require ethics approval please contact the Research Ethics Officer for advice, email fass.lumsethics@lancaster.ac.uk.
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Undergraduate and Master's projects
Undergraduate (UG) and Master's coursework and dissertations that involve the generation of data with human participants need to be ethically approved before human participants are approached and before any data is generated. Responsibility for ethical review of UG and Master's projects lies within the Departments.
Tab Content: Templates and Documents
Additional documents
In addition to completing the application form in REAMS, you will need to upload all research materials of direct relevance to your application, such as, but not limited to:
- Advertising materials (posters, emails)
- Letters of invitation to participate
- Participant Information Sheets
- Consent Forms
- Data collection materials such as interview questions, questionnaires/survey questions, workshop guides, focus group scripts, demographic sheets.
- Debrief sheets
The FASS-LUMS Research Ethics Committee has prepared a participant information sheet and consent form, below, which all applicants are invited to use. If you will employ a transcriber, for example to transcribe audio-recorded interviews, they will need to sign a Confidentiality Agreement. A sample Confidentiality Agreement can also be found below. The Committee recommends that you use these templates which you can adapt for your research project. If your participants include people with a learning disability, your information sheet and consent form should include pictorial representations of the information you are trying to communicate.
Tab Content: Committee Meeting Calendar
Committee Meeting Calendar
All applications for ethics approval received by the FASS-LUMS Research Ethics Committee will be considered carefully.
All incoming applications will initially be screened by the Committee Secretary or Chair or Deputy Chair. Only a small number of applications can be considered via Chair’s action (e.g. applications for projects not including direct contact with human participants and drawing on secondary data only; some applications that have been reviewed by another university).
Many applications will be seen by at least one reviewer who is responsible for writing the review and for considering revisions and additional information submitted in response to the review. Applications that, after initial screening, are considered to pose more significant ethical risks will be considered by either a minimum of two reviewers or the full committee at its monthly meetings. When applications have been reviewed they will be finally approved by the Chair or Deputy Chair of the Committee.
Outcomes of the review include the following options:
- Approved, or further information and revisions required, or referral to the FASS-LUMS Research Ethics Committee meeting for further discussion.
- Not approved: the application is seriously flawed and requires major revisions before it can be considered; applicants in this category should prepare a new application and add a cover letter explaining what major changes they have made following the previous review.
- Rejected: the study is deemed unethical.
Ethics application processing times
The estimated processing times for the review of ethics applications from staff and PhD students are outlined below. We will do our best not to exceed this time. However, we cannot exclude that due to circumstances such as high volume of applications, absence of committee members due to illness and when fewer members are available, for example during summer vacation and University closures, some applications may take longer to review.
The length of time required for each review is related to the complexity of ethical issues raised by your planned research. Additionally, it depends on the quality of your ethics application and the speed at which you are able to respond to requests for revisions or clarification from the reviewers. Therefore, the times given below are estimated review times, and it is likely that it will take longer for you to receive full approval of your application.
It is entirely your, the applicant’s responsibility, to submit applications in good time so that any data collection can start as planned and only after ethics approval has been obtained, in writing, from the Committee.
The processing time for ethics applications requiring Chair’s action is up to two weeks. For all other applications, the processing time is a minimum of six weeks.
Please note that these times might be exceeded during periods of high demand and staff absences, particularly around University closure periods (Christmas and Easter). Due to limited staff availability, applications submitted in August will take longer to process.
Committee meeting dates and submission deadlines
Applications for ethics review can be submitted at any time. However, if your study poses significant ethical risks, it will be considered by the Committee at one of its monthly meetings. To note, that there is no Committee meeting in August. Turnaround times over the summer period are likely to exceed those listed above, in particular during periods where the Research Ethics Officer and/or the Chair/Deputy Chair are away from the University. Applicants who would like their application to be considered at a Committee meeting need to submit their application by the deadline. The Committee meeting dates and deadlines for submitting applications for review by full Committee are listed below. Please submit applications before 5.30pm.
- 13 September 2023 (Deadline for submitting applications 18 August 2023)
- 11 October 2023 (Deadline for submitting applications 22 September 2023)
- 8 November 2023 (Deadline for submitting applications 20 October 2023)
- 13 December 2023 (Deadline for submitting applications 20 November 2023)
- 17 January 2024 (Deadline for submitting applications 6 December 2023)
- 8 February 2024 (Deadline for submitting applications 14 January 2024)
- 6 March 2024 (Deadline for submitting applications 16 February 2024)
- 10 April 2024 (Deadline for submitting applications 15 March 2024)
- 8 May 2024 (Deadline for submitting applications 19 April 2024)
- 5 June 2024 (Deadline for submitting applications 17th May 2024)
- 3rd July 2024 (Deadline for submitting applications 14th June 2024)
- No meeting in August 2024
Tab Content: Committee Membership
FASS-LUMS Faculty Research Ethics Committee Membership
Chair Karolina Follis
Deputy Chair Gary Potter
Committee Secretary (Faculty Research Ethics Officer): Debbie Knight
Faculty Members
FASS
- Jonathan Vincent (Education Research)
- Philip Moffitt (Education Research)
- Andrew Tate (English and Creative Writing)
- Alex Wragge-Morley (History)
- Joseph Lindley (LICA)
- To be confirmed (LICA)
- Rachel Heah (Law)
- Nayeli Urquiza (Law)
- Sebastian Muth (Linguistics and English Language)
- Silke Brandt (Linguistics and English Language)
- Celine Germond-Duret (PPR)
- Joanna Kostka (Sociology)
- Deidre Duffy (Sociology)
- Veronique Lane (DELC)
LUMS
- Mohan Subbiah (Accounting and Finance)
- Konstantinos Georgalos (Economics)
- Joanne Larty (Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Innovation)
- Chris Kirkbride (Management Science)
- Emre Tarim (Marketing)
- Lucas Introna (Organisation, Work and Technology)
Lay members
- John Gordon
- To be confirmed
Student representatives
- Oleksandra Osypenko (FASS)
- To be confirmed (LUMS)
F?ASS-LUMS REC Terms of Reference are available from the Research Ethics Officer, email fass.lumsethics@lancaster.ac.uk
Tab Content: Additional Information
There is additional information below on where to find further information about issues that may apply to your project.
- Guidance on research that involves the NHS (HRA) can be accessed from this link .
- Guidance for researchers using websites, social media and online sources can be accessed from these links: Social media quick guide and Guidance on using social media for research.
- Guidance on data protection issues can be obtained from the Data Protection Officer/Information Governance Manager, Email information-governance@lancaster.ac.uk.
- Guidance on the Freedom of Information Act can be obtained from the FOI Officer or on the FOI webpage.
- Management of data is an essential part of good research practice, guidance is accessible from this link: СʪÃÃÊÓƵ Research Data Policy.
- Guidance on health and safety issues is available from the .
- If you are involved in any activities that may result in a conflict of interest with your research, contact the Head of Research Services.
- If any of the intellectual property to be used in the research belongs to a third party (e.g. the funder of previous work you have conducted in this field), please contact the Intellectual Property Team.
- If your work involves animals, you will need authorisation from the Chief Administrative Officer. Also, you may need to submit an application to AWERB; contact the Secretary to AWERB, Lucy Sanderson for further details.
- If your research involves either the nuclear industry, or an aircraft, or the aircraft industry (other than for transport), please provide details in your ethics application. This information is required by the University insurers.
- Guidance on research with children Sept 2017. Please note that this is a working document, and it is intended for guidance.
- Human Tissue Act Guidance
- Information about transcription software supported by СʪÃÃÊÓƵ can be found on the data protection and webpages.
Tab Content: Training
is available for staff and students, along with a Research Integrity self-assessment exercise.