Guidelines for Ethics Approval for Staff & Student Research (School of English & Digital Humanities)

All staff and students within the School of English & Digital Humanities should read this document IN FULL before seeking ethics approval for research projects.

Approval guidelines for undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as staff, are detailed in separate sections.

General Overview of Ethics Approval

Ethics approval exists to ensure good research conduct among staff and students at UCC.

Staff and students should familiarise themselves with UCC's Code of Research Conduct:
https://www.ucc.ie/en/media/research/researchatucc/policiesdocuments/UCCCodeofResearchConductV2.2FINAL141218.pdf

Ethics approval must ALWAYS be obtained IN ADVANCE of carrying out the research and ethics approval CANNOT, under any circumstances, be granted retrospectively.

The overall coordination of research ethics is the responsibility of the University Ethics Committee (UEC), a committee of Academic Council which reports annually to Academic Council and Governing Body.

There are three separate committees at UCC dealing with ethics approval:

1. Social Research Ethics Committee (SREC)
2. Animal Experimentation Ethics Committee (AEEC)
3. Research Ethics Committee of the Cork Teaching Hospitals (CREC)

Research in the arts and humanities generally falls under the remit of the Social Research Ethics Committee (SREC).

Research ethics approval is required for all research involving DIRECT and/or INDIRECT interaction with human participants. This includes interaction via computer, the internet, in clinical or other settings, and/or any research which uses the personal data of identifiable individuals. Only when a staff member or student has obtained approval for their research can they start that part of the project which involves people. Ethics approval is also required for any research which involves the use of animals.

Undergraduate Research

Undergraduate research should NEVER be referred to the Social Research Ethics Committee (SREC). The university-level Social Research Ethics Committee DOES NOT review ethical applications from undergraduate students or non-UCC applicants. Ethics approval for ALL undergraduates students must be sought at a deparmental level.

In the case of ALL undergraduate research being conducted within the School of English & Digital Humanities, the following application should be completed by students in conjunction with their project supervisors (UCC credentials required to access link):
https://uccireland-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/g/personal/james_osullivan_ucc_ie/EV94m5299WVIoPfbRvFOxqUBsTGi6G8yOUXZc1FgYmxjSg?e=F25m6s

Once completed, this form should then be returned by the student to the relevant department's Research Officer for approval, either:

Dr James O'Sullivan (Department of Digital Humanities), or 
Dr Maureen O'Connor (Department of English)

Where necessary, research officers will then discuss the application with the student and their project supervisors. The Research Officer may request additional members of staff to review the proposal. Staff will collectively agree if any measures should be taken by the student before ethics approval is granted. Students should allow sufficient time (up to two weeks) for reviews to be completed. Ethics approval forms and feedback must be stored by students and supervisors in the event that they are required at a later date.

Undergraduate students are advised to avoid research topics of a particularly-sensitive nature. Typically, undergraduate students in the School of English & Digital Humanities should refrain from research projects which involve interaction with vulnerable groups, persons under the age of 18, animals or clinical settings.

The following guidelines can be used to determine what constitutes a vulnerable group:
https://www.ucc.ie/en/media/research/researchatucc/ethicswebpage/VulnerabilityGuidanceDocumentApril2019.pdf

Should students require templates for consent forms, they should refer to university-level Social Research Ethics Committee (SREC) resources:
https://www.ucc.ie/en/research/culture/ethics/applyforethicalapproval/srecsampleformtemplates/

Failure to comply with these guidelines will result in any associated research project being deemed inadmissible, and disciplinary action may be taken in accordance with university research policies. No exceptions can be made.

Please note that it can take up to 10 business days for an application to be reviewed.

Postgraduate Research (taught courses)

Generally, the university-level Social Research Ethics Committee DOES NOT review ethical applications from TAUGHT postgraduate students (eg. MA programmes). If a student is unsure of whether they are considered to be enrolled in a TAUGHT or RESEARCH programme, they should confirm their status with their department's Research Officer.

In the first instance, ALL TAUGHT postgraduate researchers (ie. students enrolled on most MA programmes) within the School of English & Digital Humanities should download and complete the SREC application in conjunction with their project supervisors (UCC credentials required to access link):
https://uccireland-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/g/personal/james_osullivan_ucc_ie/EV94m5299WVIoPfbRvFOxqUBsTGi6G8yOUXZc1FgYmxjSg?e=0j7LjX

Once completed, this form should then be returned to the relevant department's Research Officer for consideration, either:

Dr James O'Sullivan (Department of Digital Humanities), or
Dr Maureen O'Connor (Department of English)

Research officers will then discuss the application with project supervisors. The Research Officer may request additional members of staff to review the proposal. Staff will collectively agree if any measures should be taken by the student before ethics approval is granted. Ethics approval forms and feedback should be stored by supervisors and research officers in the event that they are required at a later date.

In exceptional cases where the Research Officer, supervisor or any staff reviewers are uncomfortable granting departmental approval, they may agree to refer the proposal to the Social Research Ethics Committee (SREC). In such cases, additional guidelines will be sent to the student.