Ethical Approval for Dissertation Work

Tasks

Northumbria University strives to uphold the highest standards of ethical practice in research and academic integrity. Irrespective of the nature and ethical complexity of a research project, staff and students are expected to ensure that their conduct is driven by the ethical imperative of respect, the intent to do no harm and to contribute to society’s knowledge and practice through engagement in research that has beneficent intent.

To achieve a high quality research culture, the following key elements are promoted:

• Respect for the dignity, rights, safety and well-being of participants and researchers
• Valuing diversity in society
• Personal and scientific integrity
• Leadership
• Honesty
• Accountability
• Openness
• Clear and supportive management.

Dissertation work conducted by postgraduate students is recognised as research activity by the University. Therefore, it is subject to appropriate ethical scrutiny and review. Ethical approval must be obtained prior to the commencement of the research.  This applies to all dissertation regardless of whether primary data is being collected (for example using interviews/questionnaires) or secondary data is being analysed (no primary data is being collected). Ethical approval is awarded by an independent reviewer.

The ethical approval process

Here is the process that students must follow:

1.Ethical approval MUST be obtained for all research projects PRIOR to the commencement of the research. Students must not collect/analyse any data without ethical approval. A failure to secure this approval in advance risks both your dissertation grade and having an academic misconduct allegation made against you (risking your degree).

2.Applications for ethical approval must be submitted online through the University’s online ethics system. To access Ethics Online go to Ethics and Governance webpage You should discuss your application with your supervisor and get their sign off on your completed application at one of your supervision meetings or via email prior to the submission.

3.In the application, you will be asked to select from the drop down what you are submitting as.  You need to select PGT – Postgraduate Taught Student.

4.In the application, you also will be asked to determine the level of ethical risk of your dissertation. Please note that this module does NOT ACCEPT High ethical risk dissertations. You are only allowed to conduct medium and low risk dissertations. In the next section you will find an explanation for each level of ethical risk.

5.Your application will be approved (or returned for reworking) by an independent reviewer.In most cases, the reviewer will be able to authorise the research. Occasionally, a reviewer may have concerns over the proposed research and then it may be necessary to make amendments to your application

6.Informed consent is one of the core ethical principles of conducting research with human participants. Students MUST obtain informed consent from all participants in the research. This applies to all forms of primary research including online surveys. You must use the appropriate version of the University consent form, which is available in Blackboard.

7.If you work with an organisation, organisational consent is required. In this case, students must complete the “Faculty Organisational Consent Form” and have it signed by an appropriate manager within the Organisation being studied. The signed form must be included in the appendix. The company name may be obscured to retain anonymity.

8.If you wish to collect data within the Faculty of Business and Law, the Faculty Organisational Consent Form needs to be signed by the Director of Research Ethics. Dissertation students may wish to approach students from other faculties; they must seek approval from the Ethics Committee in the relevant School / Faculty after having discussed the research with their supervisor.

9.It is the duty of all students undertaking research activities to follow and maintain the highest standards of academic practice when processing information about living individuals (personal data) as part of their research. All processing of personal data must be in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulations.