Public scrutiny and accountability mean that studies involving human participants must be formally reviewed by individuals who are independent of the research.
Oxford Brookes University requires research ethics review for all research and consultancy undertaken by staff and students wherever research and related activities involve human participants, material or personal data. Research studies should ensure that the dignity, rights, safety, inclusivity and well-being of all participants are given primary consideration.
The University is committed to maintaining high ethical standards in the research undertaken by staff and students. The University Research Ethics Committee (UREC) is the parent committee responsible for overseeing research ethics for the University. Two Sub-Committees report to UREC - The Cross-Faculty Research Ethics Sub-Committee (CRES) and the Health & Social Care Research Ethics Sub-Committee (HSCRES) - both of which meet 12 times a year from September to July. For dates of the meetings and submission deadlines, please see the University Research Ethics Committee tab below.
The Sub-Committees review applications from Faculty/Directorate staff and research students (registered for MPhil, PhD, and professional doctoral programmes), whilst the review of research by Undergraduate and Taught Masters students is devolved to the Faculties. The number of applications considered at each meeting is limited and there is a high demand, so early submission is recommended. For more information please select the University Research Ethics Committee tab below for details.
All applications must comply with the Code of Practice for Research Ethics Involving Human Participants. The Ethics Committee also takes into account compliance with data protection legislation, actions where research is in a security sensitive area and whether appropriate informed consent is being obtained. For all other University policies please select the Policies, Guidelines and Useful Documents tab below.
Details of the process for applying for ethics approval, together with further information is available by selecting the Process tab below.