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About research ethics
Newman University requires that all staff and registered students’ research projects undergo an ethical self-assessment and, where further scrutiny is required, an ethical review by the University’s Research Ethics Committee.
Students and staff involved in the planning of projects and research activities have a responsibility to ensure that ethical norms guide every stage of their work. Ethical concerns can range from the safe storage and distribution of data, to the safeguarding of the well-being of vulnerable participants such as children or vulnerable adults.
The following pages will take you through the steps you need to take to ensure your research is ethical.
Do you need research ethics approval?
Question: does my research involve participants?
Question: does my research involve participants?
Answer: No - my research is desk-based and does not involve human participants
Then you don't need to do anything further.
If you want to know more about research ethics and desk-based research you can read
Newman University's Guidelines for management of research data.
Answer: Yes - my research does include human participants
Then you need to apply for ethical approval of your research. Work through the steps below.
Step one: watch the guide
Accessing this link will take you to Panopto. You'll need to log into Moodle to view the videos.
Step two: complete the ethics approval form (Form 1): Make sure a tutor has seen a draft before submitting.
Follow this link to join the Student Ethics Moodle page. This is a page in which you can self-enrol and will be able to find all details about the process, including the ethical approval form - which you will need to fill in.
Step three: Complete the Participant Information sheet (Form 2)
Step four: Complete the Participant informed consent form (Form 3)
Clicking this link will download a MS Word form. You may need to log into Moodle and self-enrol onto the research ethics page to download it.
Make sure your Participant Information Sheet(s) refer to the university privacy notices by including the following links:
Privacy Notice for Research Participants
Privacy Notice for Research Contacts
Step five: Email the forms to your personal tutor
You need to include all three forms in your ethical approval application (the application, participant information form and informed consent form).
Your personal tutor will provide feedback: respond by making any changes required.
Step six: Use the online workflow to submit your application
Step six: Use the online workflow to submit your application
Copy and paste each section of the research ethics form into this workflow, and submit. Once submitted, approval usually takes around one month. You may be asked for more information during this time.
If approved, you will be emailed a certificate for research approval. Once you have this certificate, you can begin your research.
Resources to support your application
To complete your research ethics form it is likely you will need to do some further reading on your selected research methods. These ebooks are readily available from the university library and are a good place to start:
Walliman, N. (2018) Research methods: the basics. London: Routledge
Oliver, P. (2010) The student's guide to research ethics. Maidenhead: The Open University Press.
Miller, T. (ed) (2012) Ethics in qualitative research. 2 edn. London: SAGE.
Examples of successful applications
Example 1: Unions: A United Front or a Class War? (Podcast)
Example 2: The NHS on Life Support: An investigation of privatised healthcare (Interview with Professional for a Report)
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