Guidance for Postgraduate Research Students

What to submit

The documents required for PGR student applications are:

• Main Application Form (online in Ethics RM). All questions must be answered. “Not applicable” is a satisfactory answer where appropriate.

Supporting documentation must also be supplied and submitted in PDF format if they are relevant to your project:

• Participant Information Sheet (PIS) for each group of participants involved in the study

View the PARTICIPANT INFORMATION SHEET TEMPLATE >

• Consent Form (CF) for each group of participants involved in the study to be signed by each participant.

View the CONSENT FORM TEMPLATE >
View the INTERVIEW CONSENT FORM TEMPLATE >
View the VERBAL CONSENT TEMPLATE >

• Recruitment materials: posters, copies of letters or emails of invitation to recruit participants, social media posts, etc.
• Copies of relevant authorisations such as consent from any organisational, institutional, or participant group ‘gatekeepers’ to gain access to the research participants or data.
• Questionnaires – where applicable.
• Interview topic guide(s) – where applicable.
• Focus Group topic guide(s) – where applicable.
• For complex studies: Study protocol (this supports the ethics application but does not replace the requirement for the Ethical Review Application Form to be completed).
• If your research requires conducting fieldwork off-campus, including lone working, domestic or overseas travel, or is taking place in a foreign country, completion of a University of Brighton Risk Assessment will be required addressing the hazards, risks, and control measures and should be included as a supporting study document in your ethics application.

DOWNLOAD the risk assessment here >

• If your research will require high risk travel or fieldwork conducted in high risk locations (for example, a country within Sub-Saharan Africa), and online Risk Assessment must be completed in AssessNET for the project, to provide institutional oversight.

• Students must first request the setup of an AssessNET account. Contact Nicola Arnold, Safety HUB Manager, Occupational Safety and Health Services, n.j.arnold@brighton.ac.uk to arrange an account to be activated. 
• AssessNET is then accessed via SharePoint here, the University of Brighton’s intranet.

Please provide a PDF copy of the AssessNET Risk Assessment as a supporting study document. (Risks Associated with Research - University of Brighton Risk Assessment and Travel Insurance Requirements offers further guidance). 

Download the risk assessment guidance here >

• If you are conducting research outside the UK, a completed Applicant Checklist Tool for Research Conducted Overseas will be required, which is available via the ‘Overseas Research’ page. View the page here >
• Summary Curriculum Vitae (CV) for non-BSMS supervisors.

Amendments to research projects after approval has been granted 

F-REC approval must be sought for any changes that are made to projects following ethics approval. For example, you will need to apply for an amendment approval if you wish to:

• Change the study design or methodology, participant recruitment process or populations. Example: recruitment of an additional cohort of participants. 
• Change any documentation previously reviewed and approved. Example: rewording of any documentation including letters or information sheets.
• Modify the study tools, for example, the addition of a new questionnaire. 
• Extend the study end date. 

If in doubt whether the change requires further ethics review please contact SEMFRECBSMS@sussex.ac.uk. 

Amendments for previously approved projects on Sussex Direct

If you need to apply for an amendment approval, you will need to submit a ‘Request for Amendment Form’ outlining the changes that are entailed, for consideration of the F-REC Chair in Ethics RM.

DOWNLOAD THE AMENDMENT FORM here >

In Sussex Direct: 

• Select ‘Submit Amendment’ in the approved parent application.
• In the ‘Supporting Documents’ section, upload the Request for Amendment Form together with any new and revised versions of the study documentation.
• The named supervisor will need to authorise and submit the amendment.  

Amendments on Ethics RM

If your original application is on Ethics RM (Infonetica), please unlock your approved application, change Q.2 from ‘New application’ to: ‘Amendment to an already approved application’, edit the form, upload any new documents (with track-changes) and submit as an amendment application.

Most amendment requests can be considered by the Chair within 10 working days of submission. Occasionally substantial amendments require comprehensive review, and the applicant will be notified.

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