INTRODUCTION TO FACULTY RESEARCH ETHICS COMMITTEES

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) requires that all human participant research has an ethical review, proportionate to the risks involved in the research. Other funding bodies, e.g. Horizon 2020, and many professional bodies also have specific requirements for the ethical consideration of research which extends to environmental issues or research that may have a dual use.

The University has an established structure to streamline, expedite the review process and bring consistency across the Institution.  This involves the use of Faculty Research Ethics Committees (Faculty RECs).

The Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences was the first Faculty to adopt the model of a Faculty REC with the Faculty of Medicine, Health & Life Sciences following in 2019.  The Faculty REC model facilitates the application and implementation of relevant University Regulations and Policies governing research ethics and centralises the ethical review of all research projects being undertaken within the Faculty.

All Schools within the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences and the Faculty of Medicine, Health & Life Sciences are participating in the process.  Each School has two or three representatives on their respective Faculty RECs, bringing individual expertise and discipline knowledge to deliberations.

The Faculty RECs meet monthly to consider high risk applications. The review of applications with minimal ethical issues will be undertaken in an expedited manner (Lower Risk Review) and can be submitted on a rolling basis. For projects being considered at the Faculty REC meeting, the researcher may be asked to attend. The risk level is determined by the dynamic ethics application form in QUB Online Research Ethics Management (OREM). A risk level of 'Low' indicates a research ethics review is not required (e.g. secondary analysis of anonymous data or desk study (published research). A risk level of 'Medium' is suitable for lower risk review - for Undergraduate and Postgraduate Taught Student Research this means review by your Supervisor and one other member of Staff within your School. For Staff and Postgraduate Research this means review by a Designated Reviewer within your School which is arranged when your application is submitted to the REC. If an ethics application has a risk level of 'High' it requires review at one of the monthly REC meetings.

You should note that the Chief Investigator for an application must be a member of University staff, it may not be a student.  For student applications, the Chief Investigator should be the main Supervisor.

All documents submitted in support of an application should be marked with a version number and date. 

HOW DO I APPLY?

QUB Online Research Ethics Management (OREM)

The University has launched a new research ethics management system. This new system, OREM, will support the preparation, submission, review and approval of applications to the Faculty Research Ethics Committees (RECs).

New applications should be made via OREM. (Any amendments to projects submitted through the old Word applications can be submitted to their REC using the Word Amendment Form below.)

The ethics application system has been designed to be intuitive and easy to use for staff and students. Guidance and instructional videos on how to use the system are available here.

You can log in to OREM here.

For any technical queries on OREM please email: worktribeethics@qub.ac.uk

•  Further REC Forms:

An MHLS High Risk Ethics Application submission requires two Gov4 Peer Review Forms as supporting documents, uploaded to the Documents tab on OREM.

Acknowledgement of Existing Ethical Approval Guidance

• Useful Information:

Faculty REC Application Flowchart

Faculty EPS REC Meeting Dates 2025-26

MHLS Faculty REC Meeting Schedule 2025-26

Participant Information Sheet Template

Consent Form Template

Participant Information Sheet & Consent Form Guidance

Frequently asked Questions

Common Pitfalls when Applying and How to Avoid Them

Professional Bodies

Peer Review          Basic application for peer review form (Gov 1) (doc)        Full Application for Peer Review Form (Gov 4) (doc)

Guidelines for Good Practice - University Researchers Working in Partnership with Community Sector Organisations

• Contact

Please contact the University Research Ethics Officer, for EPS Faculty REC, Stefan Curran, by email: facultyreceps@qub.ac.uk for MHLS Faculty REC, Lorraine Carew facultyrecmhls@qub.ac.uk if you have any queries or require assistance with any aspect of the process.