Research Ethics at University College Cork

University College Cork (UCC) is committed to promoting consistent ethical behaviour as an integral element of its research culture.

Research Ethics at UCC addresses the requirement to ensure that certain basic ethical standards are met in the conduct of research. Where proposed research may engage potentially ethically sensitive issues (such as the involvement of human participants), institutional safeguards must be put in place to promote best practice. A robust and suitable model of Research Ethics Governance confers the following benefits on a university:

• It ensures that institutional and individual responsibilities under the law are complied with.
• It promotes public confidence and trust in the research activity of the university.
• It helps in fulfilling institutional and individual responsibilities to behave in an ethical and equitable manner toward research participants, employees, funding bodies and wider society.
• It helps in protecting the interests of all parties involved in research; research participants/donors, investigators, funding bodies and the host institution.
• It helps in fulfilling obligations to indemnity insurers.

Such a model also has direct benefits for academic and research staff:

• It provides impartial ethical oversight of research projects.
• It assures institutional support to staff who have obtained institutional ethical approval.
• It makes research proposals more desirable to funding bodies and is generally necessary in order to obtain funding.
• It may be an explicit requirement for publication of reseach.
• It promotes efficiency and clarity in research protocols.
• It may provide specific guidance with regard to issues such as informed consent, confidentiality, data protection policies, and protection of vulnerable groups where these do not already exist by statute or by international norms.

University Ethics Committee

The research ethics framework within UCC comprises the University Ethics Committee (UEC) and the three sub-Committees that report to it. UEC is a Committee of Academic Council and it reports annually to Academic Council.

The chair of UEC is Professor Ciara Heavin, Department of Business Information Systems, Cork University Business School.

UEC has the following key responsibilities:

• To develop policy and procedures governing ethics in research and research conduct.
• To make recommendations to Academic Council to ensure the effective operation of ethics governance structures at UCC.
• To establish and oversee ethics sub-committees.
• To co-ordinate training and raise awareness of ethics and good research conduct among staff and students.

UEC does not process individual research proposals for ethical approval. This responsibility currently falls to three Research Ethics Committees (RECs). The nature of the research proposal (whether focused on animal research, clinical research, or social research) determines the appropriate committee.

Do you need UCC ethical approval?

Research ethics approval is required for all research involving direct and indirect interaction with human participants (via computer / internet, in clinical or other settings) and/or which uses personal data of identifiable individuals. It is also required for any research that involves the use of animals.

It is the responsibility of all researchers (regardless of the nature of their research) and all supervisors of student research (undergraduate and postgraduate) to ensure that research is carried out in an ethical manner and to adhere to all associated legal requirements.It is the responsibility of all researchers and research supervisors in UCC to ensure adherence to the UCC Code of Research Conduct. Formal prior ethics approval by a recognised UCC Research Ethics Committee (REC) is required.

When do you need to obtain research approval?

Research ethics approval must always be obtained in advance of carrying out the research and ethical approval will not be granted retrospectively. Only when you obtain approval for your research, can you start that part of the research, which directly/indirectly involves people or their data. Please make sure that you give yourself a good lead-time in applying for ethics approval.

What research ethics committee should you apply to?

Clinical Research | Animal Experimentation | Social Research

Clinical Research

If the research project is clinical in nature, then it must be referred to the Research Ethics Committee of the Cork Teaching Hospitals (CREC). The requirements of CREC are set out in the CREC manual which is available from its secretariat. In broad terms, prior approval is necessary where the research methodology involves:

• Therapeutic interaction with human participant(s).
• A clinical trial of, inter alia, a medical device, medicinal product, or clinical technique.
• Development of diagnostic techniques using human participants.
• Access to, or utilisation of, human tissue and body fluids.
• Access to, or utilisation of, identifiable medical data concerning individuals (such as clinical records) by parties not directly concerned in the provision of care to these individuals.
• Interaction with / observation of individuals in a healthcare context or setting.

Email contact: crec@ucc.ie

Animal Experimentation

Research which involves experimentation on animal subjects must be approved by the Animal Experimentation Ethics Committee (AEEC) with input from the Animal Welfare Body. This is a prerequisite to obtaining the necessary authorisations for animal experimentation as prescribed by law. If seeking to apply for or renew an existing animal experimentation authorisation, the researcher must first refer to the Animal Welfare Body and Director of the Biological Services Unit.

Email contact: awb@ucc.ie

AEEC Review Process

There are two separate review processes:

1. Application for the purpose of postmortem tissue collection.
2. For projects requiring regulatory authorisation.

If the full images does not appear correctly, you can download the file from the following links:

• UCC AEEC Postmortem Review Process
• UCC AEEC REG Review Process

Social Research

Non-clinical research which involves human participants must be approved by the Social Research Ethics Committee (SREC) or a formally approved SREC sub-committee. Ethical review by SREC is required where the methodology is not clinical or therapeutic in nature and proposes to involve:

• Direct interaction with human participants for the purpose of data collection using research methods such as questionnaires, interviews, observations, focus groups etc.
• Indirect interaction with human participant for example using observation, web surveys etc.
• Access to, or utilisation of, data concerning identifiable individuals.
  Please note, if a research protocol falls into both the jurisdictions of CREC and SREC, then the application should usually be referred to CREC.
• Email contact: srec@ucc.ie

Appeals Procedure

University College Cork UEC Research Ethics Review Appeals Procedure (Version 2.0, Updated 28/01/2026)

Introduction | Grounds for Appeal | How to Lodge an Appeal | Appeal Panel | Appeals Procedure

Introduction

The University Ethics Committee (UEC) is committed to upholding the responsibilities of the University and the research community with respect to the conduct of research, including principles of good practice, ethical approval, competence, responsibility, integrity, rights and dignity of research participants, data management and dissemination. By having an appeals procedure, the UEC is not expecting or soliciting appeals and this procedure should only be invoked when all avenues with the relevant UEC ethics sub-committee through its chair, have been exhausted. The procedure applies to any researcher / research team, who wishes to appeal the decision made by a UCC research ethics sub-committee. A Supervisor / Principal Investigator may bring forward an appeal on a student’s /students' behalf in accordance with the procedures set out below.

Grounds for Appeal

The grounds for appeal areas are as follows:

A. There were procedural irregularities in the review process where the committee may not have reached the same conclusion had these not occurred.

B. There is evidence or grounds for allegation of inadequate review in the review conducted.

How to Lodge an Appeal

The researcher / PI wishing to appeal a decision of UCC’s Constituent Research Ethics Sub- Committees (AEEC / CREC / SREC) should notify the UEC secretary (ethics@ucc.ie) in writing within 15 working days of the notification of the decision made by the ethics committee, which is the subject of the appeal. The following information should be included:

1. The title of the proposed research topic and the name of the lead researcher or supervisor as appropriate.
2. The reference number if one was assigned to the application, which is the subject of the appeal.
3. The date of the decision made and the name of the committee, which is the subject of the appeal.
4. The grounds for appeal (specified with reference to those identified above).
5. Any supporting documentary evidence to support the appeal.

Composition of the Appeal Panel

The Chair of UEC will decide whether they are the most appropriate person to chair the appeal panel. In the case of a conflict of interest, the Chair of UEC will refer the appeal to the Vice President for Research and Innovation / UCC Research Integrity Officer, and unless there is a conflict of interest on their part also, one of them will chair the panel.

Where the appeal is based on a valid ground of appeal, a suitable panel to consider the appeal (the appeal panel) will be assembled by the chair based on the subject area of the project and drawn from the UEC and/or other disciplinary or other experts (internal / external to the university), as deemed necessary/appropriate. Appeal panel members will be required to have no previous involvement with an application, which is the subject of an appeal.

The appeal panel will be supported by the UEC Secretary who will request and supply all the relevant information from the local ethics sub-committee that made original decision, as well as any additional information that may be deemed relevant.

The Appeals Procedure

The appeal process will consist of four steps:

• a discussion of the decision appealed;
• a review of the evidence;
• a considered decision;
• a communication of this decision.

The appeal panel will consider an appeal in such manner as it deems appropriate to the circumstances of the case, having regard to fairness, due process, the UCC Code of Research Conduct and other related university policy and guidance. The appeal panel shall, subject to above, process appeals as quickly as is reasonably possible.

The appeal panel shall determine the appeal and make whatever decision it considers appropriate in the circumstances. The appeal panel shall have power to revoke or amend the decision of the human ethics committee (i.e., CREC/SREC) that made the original decision in full or part or make such other direction as it sees fit (e.g., direct the relevant committee to reconsider the position). In the case of AEEC (animal research), the appeal panel may direct the relevant committee to reconsider their position.

Both the researcher who submitted the appeal and the chair of the relevant ethics sub- committee will be notified of the decision of the appeal panel in writing.

The appeal panel chair will ensure that any institutional obligations and/or relevant contractual obligations to research funding bodies and partner institutions are met, which may include notifying them of the appeal and its finding / recommendation.

The decision of the appeal panel is final.