Applying for ethical clearance for human participant research

Guidelines for Students and Staff undertaking Research Involving Human Participants 

Any student or staff member who is considering undertaking research that involves collecting data from human participants must first get formal clearance for their project.

This guidance covers student dissertations, essays, portfolios and other assessed work, and staff and postdoctoral research.

• What type of research does this include?
• Why is ethical clearance necessary?
• How to Apply
• Application deadlines

1. What type of research does this include?

Any research involving direct interaction with other people, or that uses data that have been collected from individuals, is considered ‘human participant research’. This might include:

• Questionnaires or surveys
• Interviews
• Focus groups
• Visitor survey data
• Personal records, including medical or biometric data
• Observations of people's behaviour
• Activities involving research subjects

Ethical approval is required whether you collect this data yourself, or are using secondary datasets collected by other researchers.
If you are uncertain about whether your research requires ethical approval, please contact the Chair of the Ethics Committee, Julia Shaw (IoA.ethics@ucl.ac.uk) to discuss this further.

2. Why is ethical clearance necessary?

It is important to ensure the way you collect your data is ethically sound. All human participant research should be designed to minimise the risk of harm to those who take part in it, while being fully compliant with UK law. 

By gaining proper ethical clearance you will have protection from the UCL legal team should any problems arise during the course of your work.

The process of gaining ethical approval will also help you develop a robust methodology and avoid some of the potential pitfalls of this type of research.

3. How to Apply

1. Establish your topic, research aims and methods
2. Complete the ethics checklist to determine which committee to apply to
3. Submit a Risk Assessment
4. Register with the UCL Data Protection Office (if collecting personal data)
5. Complete and submit your Ethics Application (LREC or REC)
6. Upload supporting documentation
7. Obtain confirmation of ethics approval
8. Obtain external permissions and checks (if required)
9. Renewal of ethics approval (for research lasting more than 12 months)

3.1. Establish your topic, research aims and methods

Students should first discuss their proposed research with their dissertation supervisor to develop a clear idea of their research aims and methods. You may wish to consult the ethics checklist below while working out your research strategy.

Once you have determined your course of action, you should begin the application process. This should be done as soon as you are ready; do not leave it till the last moment.

 3.2. Complete the ethics checklist

There are two routes to apply for ethical approval for your research at UCL, depending on the risks associated with your proposal. Use this 12-point checklist to find out which route is appropriate for your project.

Go to risk checklist

If you identify your project as low risk, you should apply to your Local Research Ethics Committee (LREC) for review by the Institute of Archaeology Ethics Committee.

If you identify your project as high risk, you will need to apply to the Research Ethics Committee (REC). Before doing this, consult with your supervisor and Julia Shaw, Chair of the IoA Ethics Committee (ioa.ethics@ucl.ac.uk) to ensure your assessment is correct.

We recommend you consult this checklist as early as possible, so you are aware of the potential risks of your proposed research, and the amount of time needed to gain ethics approval.

 3.3. Submit a Risk Assessment

This is required for all research, and must be completed before you can apply for ethics approval. Risk Assessment Applications usually take around 10 working days to process.

• Apply via RiskNet (all students and staff)

When filling out RiskNet, you will be asked to name your approver. Please choose ‘Darryl Palmer’ from the drop-down list, if applying for field excavation and survey work. Choose ‘Kevin Macdonald’ for all other types of Risk Assessment. Both are temporarily reviewing risk assessments for the 2023-24 academic year only.

Please consult with your supervisor if you have any problems using RiskNet or need assistance in completing your risk assessment.

3.4 Register with the UCL Data Protection Office

If you collect any any personal data from your research subjects you must comply with UK Data Protection Regulations. These state that you should:

• Only collect the personal data needed for your research
• Keep this data secure at all times
• Delete the data when it is no longer required for the stated purpose

Personal data includes information such as names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, images that allow the subject to be identified, audio or video recordings.

To proceed:

• Undergraduates must complete a UCL training course in Data Protection.
• Postgraduate researchers and staff must register their research with the UCL Data Protection Office.

Training or Registration must be completed before you can apply for ethics approval.

Data Protection Applications usually take around 10 working days to process.

• Data Protection guidance

3.5. Complete and submit your Ethics Application

If the Ethics Checklist shows that your application is considered low risk, you may apply to the Local Research Ethics Committee (LREC) for internal review by the Institute of Archaeology Ethics Committee. Please note that students must get their ethics form signed by their supervisor before they submit their form. 

Begin IoA ethics application

• Download a LREC Application Guide
• Download the LREC Application Flowchart

If the checklist shows your application to be high risk, you should apply to the UCl Research Ethics Committee (REC).

Go to REC website

Note that research involving NHS patients and carers must be approved by a national body; Please refer to the NHS Health Research Authority (HRA) checklist and the HRA's decision tool. We do not recommend this route for Undergraduate or Master student dissertations, because of the length of time required to get ethical approval in place.

For research involving live animals,  you should apply to the Animal Welfare Ethics Review Board (AWERB).

 3.6 Upload supporting documentation 

Whatever route you take to gain ethics approval, you may need to attach supporting documents to your application, depending on the methods employed. These may include:

• Information Sheet
• Consent form
• Sample interview or survey questions
• Evidence that you have, or will be applying for, any external permissions needed to conduct your research

Information sheets and consent forms must be written on UCL-headed paper. Templates, along with further guidance, are provided here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/research/ethics/informed-consent

3.7. Obtain confirmation of ethics approval

You will be informed of the outcome of your ethics application by letter or email. Once approval has been granted, you may proceed to advertise your project, recruit participants, and collect your data.

 3.8. Obtain external permissions and checks

You may also need to gain the permission from other organisations in order to recruit research subjects or collect data from them.

For example, if you intend to observe visitors to a museum, you should formally request that museum's permission to do this. They may have their own requirements for how this research should be conducted.

Similarly, you should get permission from the owners of discussion groups on social media before posting recruitment adverts or links to online questionnaires.

DBS checks may also be required if your research would place you in close, regular contact with children or vulnerable adults. Click here for further guidance.

If you would like advice on whether you require this, student researchers should email srs-compliance@ucl.ac.uk. For enquiries from staff researchers, please submit a request to HR via the new MyServices platform.

You will also be expected to follow accepted procedures for gaining informed consent from  participants, and if conducting research abroad, make sure you have the appropriate visas and travel insurance in place.

Click here for more information on gaining informed consent. If conducting interviews or questionnaires, please make sure you follow this link, as it provides template information sheets and consent forms, and other useful advice.

3.9. Renewal of Ethics Approval

Ethics approval is granted for up to two years for undergraduate/postgraduate research, and up to five years for doctoral students and staff. If your research is continuing beyond this point, you must apply for an extension before your current approval expires. This is done using the same online application portal, selecting the ‘previously approved’ option in the form.

Apply for an LREC Ethics Approval Extension

4. Application deadlines

You should allow a minimum of 4-6 weeks for your ethics application to be processed. 

The earlier you apply, the better. This is to ensure you have sufficient time for data collection, analysis and writing up - or for amending your research plans should your application be declined and/or require resubmission.

4.1. Applications for BA/BSc Dissertations

Second year undergraduates planning to collect data over the summer should:

• Complete Data Protection training and submit your ethics application by 25 June 2025 at the latest.

Third year undergraduates planning to collect data over the Christmas break should:

• Complete Data Protection training and submit your ethics application by 22 October 2025 at the latest. This is the last opportunity to submit an ethics application for dissertations due in May 2026

4.2. Applications by MA/MSc students, PhD students, staff and postdoctoral researchers

4.2.1. Local Research Ethics Committee (LREC) Applications

Students can submit a LREC application for consideration at any time. You are advised to submit your application as soon as you are able to do so.

Please note that there is a cut-off point for LREC applications from students doing Undergraduate and Masters dissertations in the 2024-25 academic session, after which it will NOT be possible to apply.

• MA/MSc students should apply for Data Protection (if needed) by 23 May 2025 and submit their LREC application by 9 June 2025 at the latest.
• PhD, staff or postdoctoral ethics applications may be made at any time.

LREC Applications to the Institute of Archaeology Ethics Committee usually take up to 20 working days to process. This depends on you replying promptly to any queries we send you; incomplete or problematic applications may take longer.

4.2.2. UCL Research Ethics Committee (REC) Applications

REC applications can be made at any time. You are advised to submit your application as soon as you are able to do so. Note that IoA Ethics committee will need at least two weeks to review and provide feedback on applications, so please factor this in when considering the following REC deadlines. 

Following the criteria in our 12-point ethics checklist above, all REC applications are automatically categorised as ‘High Risk’ and will require full committee review.

Deadlines and meeting dates for REC applications are listed below. The application process will take one month or more to complete.

Please note that there is a cut-off point for REC applications from students doing Undergraduate and Masters Dissertations in the 2024-25 academic session, after which it will NOT be possible to apply.

• MA/MSc students should apply for Data Protection (if needed) by 14 May 2025 and submit their REC application by 28 May 2025 at the latest. Note that applications would need to come to the IoA Ethics Committee for evaluation and feedback at least 2 weeks prior to this, i.e. 14 May. 
• PhD students and staff may apply at any time. However, there are no research ethics committee meetings in December or August. Please keep this in mind when planning your research; new high risk applications received after the November and July meeting deadlines will not be reviewed until January/ September.

Applicants are usually notified of the Committee decision within 1–2 weeks after the scheduled REC meeting.

As with LREC approval, ethics approval is granted for up to two years for undergraduate/postgraduate research, and up to five years for doctoral students and staff. If your research is continuing beyond this point, you must apply for an extension before your current approval expires. This is done using the same online application portal, selecting the ‘previously approved’ option in the form.

Similarly, if you change your research plans - which might include changing your target groups or research methods - you should apply for an amendment to your existing ethics approval.

• Apply for renewal or amendment of REC ethics approval