Faculty Research Ethics Committee

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The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and Lancaster University 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 for staff, PhD and MPhil students.

All colleagues and PhD/MPhil 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

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

Templates (sample documents) can be found below; please read the guidance in the following paragraphs before using them.

The FASS-LUMS Research Ethics Committee has prepared a participant information sheet and consent form which all applicants are invited to use. 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.

Occasionally, in some settings, it is more appropriate to obtain verbal consent, rather than written consent, from research participants. Therefore, the committee has also prepared a sample verbal consent protocol, which is available for you to use. To note, if you intend to obtain verbal consent (rather than written consent) you will need to justify this in your ethics application.

For example, if you employ a transcriber to transcribe audio-recorded interviews, they will need to sign a Confidentiality Agreement. A sample Confidentiality Agreement is also available for you to use.

Remember to adapt the sample documents for your research project before you upload them in REAMS.

Tab Content: Meeting dates & process times

Ethics application process times

The estimated processing times for the review of ethics applications from staff and PhD students are: - Applications requiring Chair’s action up to two weeks. - All other applications a minimum of six weeks..

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 above are estimated review times, and it is likely that it will take longer for you to receive full approval of your application. 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.

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.

When to submit an application and the process

Applications for ethical review can be submitted at any time. All applications for ethics approval received by the FASS-LUMS Research Ethics Committee will be considered carefully. Although some applications will be reviewed outside of Committee meetings; applications that, after initial screening, are considered by the Committee 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.

Committee meeting dates and submission deadlines

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.

  • 18 September 2024 (Deadline for submitting applications 23 August 2024)
  • 16 October 2024 (Deadline for submitting applications 25 September 2024)
  • 13 November 2024 (Deadline for submitting applications 23 October 2024)
  • tbc December 2024 (Deadline for submitting applications tbc November 2024)
  • tbc January 2025 (Deadline for submitting applications tbc December 2024)
  • tbc February 2025 (Deadline for submitting applications tbc January 2025)
  • tbc March 2025 (Deadline for submitting applications tbc February 2025)
  • tbc April 2025 (Deadline for submitting applications tbc March 2025)
  • tbc May 2025 (Deadline for submitting applications tbc April 2025)
  • tbc June 2025 (Deadline for submitting applications tbc May 2025)
  • tbc July 2025 (Deadline for submitting applications tbc June 2025)
  • No meeting in August 2025

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

  • Julie-Ann Sime (Education Research)
  • Philip Moffitt (Education Research)
  • Sara Wasson (English and Creative Writing)
  • Tbc (History)
  • Joseph Lindley (LICA)
  • Michael Stead (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)
  • Luciana Mendes Barbosa (Sociology)
  • Veronique Lane (Global Affairs)

LUMS

  • Dasha Smirnow (Accounting and Finance)
  • Konstantinos Georgalos (Economics)
  • Joanne Larty (Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Innovation)
  • Mahsa Honary (Management Science)
  • Emre Tarim (Marketing)
  • Yvonne Latham (Organisation, Work and Technology)

Lay members

  • To be confirmed
  • To be confirmed

Student representatives

  • Oleksandra Osypenko (FASS)
  • To be confirmed (LUMS)

F‌ASS-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.

Tab Content: Training

Online Research Integrity training is available for staff and students, along with a Research Integrity self-assessment exercise.