Ethics and Governance Review Application for Taught Programs

This document is an Ethics & Governance Review Application Form for Students on Taught Programmes, designed to ensure ethical research practices. It outlines the necessary steps for students to obtain ethical approval before starting any research involving human participants or data not in the public domain. The form includes sections for applicant details, an ethics checklist, project details (including a project summary, methodology, and intended outcomes), data protection considerations, and supervisor declarations. The application covers various aspects, such as participant information, consent materials, and research tools like questionnaires and interview questions. The form also emphasizes the importance of adhering to the University's Research and Enterprise Integrity Framework and addresses potential ethical issues, including those related to vulnerable groups and external organizations. The document guides students through the ethical review process, offering instructions based on the responses to the ethics checklist and emphasizes the need for supervisor involvement and the potential for review by the Taught Programme Ethics Panel.

ETHICS & GOVERNANCE REVIEW APPLICATION FORM
FOR STUDENTS ON TAUGHT PROGRAMMES
This form must be completed, reviewed, any actions taken and approved before
potential participants are approached to take part in any research project. i.e.
ethics approval must be received before any data collection can take place.
Your application must comprise the following documents (please tick the boxes below
to indicate that each section is complete):
Complete Ethics & Governance Review Application
Form for Students on Taught Programmes ✓
Participant information material(s) ✓
Consent material(s) ✓
Please attach copies of any research materials/tools i.e.
documents to be used in the project:
(NB: These must be attached where they form part of your
methodology)
Relevant permission letter(s)/email(s) ☐
Questionnaire ✓
Introductory letter(s) ☐
Data Collection Instruments ☐
Interview Questions ✓
Focus Group Guidelines ☐
Other (please give details): ……………………………

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR APPLICANTS
 All research involving human participants1, sentient animals2 or data not in the public
domain undertaken by all staff, all students or anyone acting on behalf of Canterbury
Christ Church University (CCCU) as part of formal University activity requires ethical
review. No data collection can be undertaken until ethical approval has been given for
the project.
 It is your responsibility in the conduct of your research to follow the policies and
procedures set out in the University’s Research and Enterprise Integrity Framework,
and any relevant academic or professional guidelines. This includes providing
appropriate research materials including participant information and consent forms,
and ensuring confidentiality in the storage and use of data.
 You must include copies of the participant information and consent materials that you
will be using in your project. Templates on which to base these are available here.
 Copies of any research materials/tools such as questionnaires or focus group
guidelines, and a completed, approved & signed Research Health & Safety Risk
Assessment must be submitted.
 Any significant change in the question, design or conduct over the course of the
project should be discussed with your academic supervisor. Depending on the nature
of the changes, an Amendment Form or a new application for ethics approval may be
required.
 This form will be retained by the Supervisor and/or Programme as part of the
applicant’s academic record.
 Your Supervisor should be involved in all ethically relevant aspects of the project,
including the preparation of the ethics application and related materials such as
participant information, consent forms, and research tools (e.g. interview questions,
survey questions etc.). However, your Academic Supervisor should not act as
Principal Investigator unless the project is embedded in a pre-existing staff project
with prior ethical approval from the relevant Faculty Ethics Panel (or other designated
external body).
 The Supervisor/Taught Programme Ethics Review Panel can approve projects, impose
conditions, or decide that a project is inherently unsuitable for the student applicant’s
level of experience and expertise and reject the application.
NEXT: Please complete Section A: Applicant Details 
1 ‘Human participants’ incorporates those participating in interviews, surveys, focus groups or
experiments (including the use of human tissue) etc.; and the processing of any personal data.
All research that involves human participants, in any way, must comply with this policy and with any
relevant University guidance or procedures, legislation or additional codes of ethics that apply in
specific areas or organisations within which research is to be undertaken (e.g. NHS procedures, codes
within Local Authorities, Research Councils’ Research Ethics Frameworks etc.).
2 The use of sentient animals in research and teaching at CCCU is restricted to observational and
behavioural studies only. No research and teaching activities that fall within the scope of the Animals
(Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (Amendment Regulations 2012) are carried out.
Ethics & Governance Review Application Form for Students on Taught Programmes _September 2020

SECTION A: APPLICANT DETAILS
Type of Project - please mark (x) as appropriate
Research Knowledge Exchange
Status - please mark (x) as appropriate
Undergraduate Postgraduate
A1. Name of applicant:
A2. Student I.D.
A3. Email address:
A4. Telephone number
A5. Module name and
number (if applicable):
A6. Course:
A7. Name of Supervisor(s) or
module Leader:
NEXT: Please complete Section B: Ethics Checklist 
Ethics & Governance Review Application Form for Students on Taught Programmes _September 2020

SECTION B: ETHICS CHECKLIST
Please answer each of the questions below by choosing ‘YES’ or ‘NO’ in the appropriate box.
Consider each response carefully then check Section C for details on how to proceed:
Yes No
B1 In carrying out your proposed project is there more than
minimal risk of harm, detriment or disadvantage to
participants, researcher(s), and/or the public beyond the
risks encountered in normal daily life/the usual context of
daily activity?
Guidance notes: If you are unsure of the answer to this question please
discuss with your Supervisor before completing the rest of this form
✓ ☐
B2 Does your project include any activities or research
methods included within the list of examples of likely
unsuitable research for students on taught programmes as
included within Section 14 of the University Research Ethics
Policy?
Guidance notes: Please follow the link to the Policy to find the list of
examples of likely unsuitable research for students on taught programmes
☐ ✓
B3 Does the project have the potential to impact on
professional relationships?
Guidance notes: This question is intended to address:
 ethical issues with power relationships.
(For example if your colleagues, own staff, students, or partner
organisations are participants within your research additional
measures will need to be in place to ensure that consent to take
part is voluntary)
 impact on any professional relationships.
(For example consider if your project (including the topic or
choice of participants) will have the potential to impact on any
professional relationships (either positively or negatively)
☐ ✓
B4 Does the project involve participants who would be
considered vulnerable within the context of your project?
Guidance notes: The potential vulnerable groups are extensive, please
consider the answer to this question carefully. A group that is not
considered vulnerable in one context might be in another so this has to be
considered for your research project. If you are unsure of the answer to
this question please discuss with your Supervisor.
☐ ✓
B5 Does your project involve interaction with external
bodies/organisations?
Guidance notes: This may include but is not limited to schools and
hospitals. It includes any contact with external bodies/organisations
including where they may act as a gatekeeper for initial access to:
 any vulnerable groups
 any individuals to be recruited (i.e. participants)
 any data not in the public domain
☐ ✓
NEXT: Please determine further actions by referring to Section C
Ethics & Governance Review Application Form for Students on Taught Programmes _September 2020

SECTION C: HOW TO PROCEED
C1. If you have answered ‘YES’ to question B1 then please discuss with your Supervisor
before you proceed with this ethics application as it may be that your project is unsuitable
and needs to be revised.
C2. If you have answered ‘YES’ to any of the questions B2-B5, this will indicate that your
application will be reviewed by the relevant Taught Programme Ethics Panel. Complete
sections D–G of this form providing as much detail as possible on how you plan to deal with
the ethical issues related to your project. Send this completed form to your Supervisor who
will complete the Supervisor Declaration and forward the application to the Taught
Programme Ethics Panel. Please be aware that ethical approval is not guaranteed and the
Taught Programme Ethics Panel reserves the right not to grant ethical approval for projects
that are deemed unsuitable for students on taught programmes.
C3. If you have answered ‘NO’ to all the questions in Section B, complete sections D–G of
this form providing as much detail as possible on how you plan to deal with any ethical
issues related to your project. Send this completed form to your Supervisor who will
complete the Supervisor Declaration. The Supervisor will carry out the ethics review,
however, if the Supervisor determines that the research project requires review by the
relevant Taught Programme Ethics Panel then it may be referred to them. This is at the
Supervisors discretion based on the University Research Ethics Policy.
Summary of next steps:
Section
B
questio
ns
Answers
Yes No
B1 Discuss with your Supervisor before
proceeding with this ethics application.
Complete Sections D–G as
appropriate and send the completed
and signed Ethics Review
Application Form to your Supervisor
for review.
B2-B5
Complete sections D–G providing as
much
detail as possible on how you plan to
deal
with the ethical issues related to your
project. Send the completed and signed
Ethics Review Application Form to your
Supervisor who will forward to the
Taught
Programme Ethics Panel for review.
Ethics & Governance Review Application Form for Students on Taught Programmes _September 2020

SECTION D: PROJECT DETAILS
D1. Project title: Impact of employee engagement on customer services provided in UK
D2. Start date
of fieldwork3
Click or tap to enter a date.
D3. End date of
fieldwork4
Click or tap to enter a date.
D4. Project
summary
(This should be
written so it can
be easily
understood by
any one even if
they are not
familiar with your
field of research)
Include information for each of these questions:
 What is the purpose of your project?
 The purpose is to find relation that the engagement of
the employees of an organisation has on the satisfaction
of the customers. To understand the way employee
engagement leads to having an impact on the customers
services
 Briefly explain your methodology in lay terms i.e. What are you doing
and how are you doing it?
In this survey and interview will be conducted to gather data from
employees
 What are the intended outcomes of your research?
There is impact on employee engagement due to customer
services
D5. Human
participants
Include information for each of these questions:
 Who are the participants?
 Employees
 What is your estimated sample size?5
 50
 How will the participants be recruited?
 Sampling technique
 What will the participants be expected to do?
 To fill survey
D6. Additional
information
 Please provide details of any ethical issues that you think are relevant to
your project that have not been covered elsewhere within this application
 If you answered ‘YES’ to any of the questions in section B please provide
further details here including:
o how you intend to manage the associated ethical issues
o any justification or mitigating circumstances for carrying out your
project
o any experience you may have beyond your current level of study
within the field of your project or in research methods in general
NEXT: Please complete Section E: Data Protection 
SECTION E: DATA PROTECTION
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) applies to the processing of personal data
within the European Union (EU). The Data Protection Act 2018 sets out the data protection
framework in the UK, alongside the GDPR. Everyone responsible for using personal data has
3 This date relates to the start of any data collection involving human or animal participants or data
not in the public domain. Please note that no research can take place until ethics approval has been
issued and approval cannot be issued retrospectively, as such, this date should always be in the future
allowing sufficient time for the ethics review process.
4 This date relates to the completion of any data collection involving human or animal participants or
data not in the public domain.
5 Please note: If your project includes an extensive survey or activity that involves University-wide
recruitment or a representative sample of 100 or more students from Canterbury Christ Church
University the Student Survey Unit and the Student Communications Unit should be notified of your
plans before any data collection is carried out.
Ethics & Governance Review Application Form for Students on Taught Programmes _September 2020

to follow strict rules called ‘data protection principles’. They must make sure the information
is:
 used fairly, lawfully and transparently
 used for specified, explicit purposes
 used in a way that is adequate, relevant and limited to only what is necessary
 accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date
 kept for no longer than is necessary
 handled in a way that ensures appropriate security, including protection against
unlawful or unauthorised processing, access, loss, destruction or damage
There is stronger legal protection for more sensitive information, such as race, ethnic
background, political opinions, religious beliefs, trade union membership, genetics,
biometrics (where used for identification), health, sex life or orientation. There are separate
safeguards for personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences.
Please refer to the University Research Privacy Notice before completing this section.
E1. Personal
data
Will Personal Identifiable Information (also defined as personal data)
be collected and/or processed?
NO
If you are in doubt, please refer to the guidance - General Data
Protection Regulation (GDPR))
 If you answered ‘YES’ to the question above please complete the rest of this
section providing as much detail as possible using the guidance questions. It must
contain as much information as possible on how your research will comply with
the GDPR and UK data protection legislation.
 If you answered ‘NO’ to the question above and having read the guidance are
sure that no personal data will be processed please move on to section F.
E2. Data
collection
 What type of personal data will be collected?
 What is the reason for personal data collection?
 What is the lawful basis for the processing of personal data?
N.B the lawful basis for processing personal data for the majority of
CCCU research projects is ‘task in the public interest’. As a general
rule ‘consent’ should not be used as a lawful basis for research but
consent may still be required for ethical or other common law
purposes.
Please use the lawful basis tool produced by the ICO to determine the
lawful basis if you are in doubt:
https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/resources-and-support/getting-
ready-for-the-gdpr-resources/lawful-basis-interactive-guidance-tool/.
E3. Subject
access
requests
 What arrangements are in place related to any actions required to
respond to individual requests for access to their personal data
(Subject Access Requests)?
 Will participants be able to withdraw consent at any stage of the
research? What is the process for this? What is the cut-off date for
withdrawal?
E4. Data
access &
sharing
 Who will have access to the personal data? This will include your
supervisor and examiner as a minimum.
E5. Participant
recruitment,
privacy &
confidentiality
 Are you using social media to recruit participants? How are you
gaining consent? How are you informing participants of how their
personal data will be used?
 Are you undertaking any activities that could create privacy
concerns for individuals due to personal intrusion? How will this be
mitigated and addressed? E.g. taking photographs that may
include members of the public
 How will you ensure confidentiality? Please identify and list all the
risks that could lead to a personal data breach.
E6. Data
 Where and how will personal data be stored? If stored external to
CCCU systems (this should be in exceptional circumstances only),
Ethics & Governance Review Application Form for Students on Taught Programmes _September 2020

storage how are you ensuring that personal data is safely stored,
processed and disposed of securely when no longer needed?
 How long will personal data be kept/stored? In what format will
this be? The GDPR states that personal data should not be stored
for any longer than is necessary. Fully anonymised data is not
considered personal data.
NEXT: Please complete Section F: Research Health & Safety Risk Assessment 
Ethics & Governance Review Application Form for Students on Taught Programmes _September 2020

SECTION F: RESEARCH HEALTH & SAFETY RISK ASSESSMENT
 This risk assessment should capture health and safety risks only. You do not need to
include insignificant risks. You do not need to include risks from everyday life unless
your research activities increase the risk. It should include enough information to allow it
to be a standalone document should this be necessary.
 Research projects will potentially carry certain risks to the physical or mental health and
safety of the researcher(s), participants and the public. Your risk assessment should
consider what in your project might cause harm, how it may cause harm and the people
who might be affected. It should take into account any control measures which are
already in place and identify what, if any, further controls are required.
 You should be able to show from your risk assessment that:
o a proper check was made;
o all people who might be affected were considered;
o all significant risks have been assessed;
o the precautions/control measures are reasonable; and
o the remaining risk is low.
 The potential health and safety hazards in research are many and varied. Each research
project is different but included in the table below are suggestions for some things that
you may wish to consider. Please note that this is by no means an exhaustive list and
you should review the available guidance materials (see below) and consider your own
project carefully to determine the risks and appropriate control measures:
Risk area Potential hazards to consider
International travel  Researcher safety due to lone travel in an unfamiliar location
 Loss of travel documents/money
 Potential of extreme weather due to season e.g. monsoon/cyclones
Domestic travel  Lone travel on public transport
 Driving long distances
Lone working  Potential emotional/physical harm to researcher from participants
 Researcher fatigue due to intense research schedule over multiple
locations
Research
location/Fieldwork
 Site specific safety
 Access to emergency services/health care due to remote location
Mental overload/Stress  Harm to researcher wellbeing from overworking due to intense
research schedule
Emotional harm/hurt  Distress to participants due sensitive research topic
 Distress to researcher due to participant/general public negative
reactions
Further guidance
 For students: Responsible research - Managing health and safety in research: guidance
for the not-for-profit sector – this explores all aspects of Health & Safety within a range
of research projects and includes case studies – for example ‘Case Study 1 – A risk
assessment of a social science research project’ (p.18-19). For further guidance, please
seek advice from your supervisor.
 For supervisors: Further guidance on Health and Safety Risk assessments can be
found on the University web pages - these include example risk assessment forms.

NATURE OF ACTIVITY:
[Enter a brief description of the research activity/fieldwork/equipment/workplace covered
by this risk assessment]. DATE OF ACTIVITY: [add if relevant for activity
being assessed i.e. start and end dates of research
activity/fieldwork]
LOCATION:
[location of the research
activity/fieldwork/equipment/workplace] NEXT H&S RISK REVIEW DATE:
[maximum 3 years after date of
assessment]
REVIEWED & APPROVED BY*:
[Academic Supervisor, print name & signature]
APRROVAL DATE*:
[Date risk assessment approved]
*In normal circumstances, review and approval should be carried out by the relevant Supervisor. Where the research project is particularly complex and contains a number of health &
safety risks or where the supervisor has not undertaken the University Health & Safety Risk Assessment training they should seek advice from their line manager before approving the risk
assessment.
Hazard/Risk
Persons
at Risk &
Nature of
harm
Current Control Measures
Risk
Rating
(High /
Medium
/Low)
Additional Control Measures Required
Revised
Risk
Rating
(High/
Mediu
m/Low)
Action by
who
Action by
when
Date
action
complete
A hazard is anything
that may cause
physical or mental
harm
State who is at
risk, this could be
an individual or a
group of people,
and the type of
harm they are at
risk of.
Describe the measure(s) that you have in place to reduce
or remove the risk of the hazard occurring.
See table
above.
Describe any other measure(s) that could be applied
to further reduce or remove the risk of the hazard
occurring. Additional measures are mandatory
should the risk outcome be rated as medium or high.
See table
below.
Who is
responsible
for the
management
of this risk
Date control
measures
need to be
implemented
by.
This should
be
completed
once the
risk has
been
managed.
For example:
Lone travel in
unfamiliar area
Researcher
personal safety
 Pre plan the route to be taken and print off a local
map
 Inform a colleague and/or supervisor 1) when arrive
at planned destination and 2) when the day’s
activities have been safely completed
 Arrange the activities to avoid travelling late at
night/in the dark
Low  Arrange a travel companion Low Researcher Date(s) of
research
activity
involving
lone travel
After
completion
of lone
travel

Hazard/Risk
Persons
at Risk &
Nature of
harm
Current Control Measures
Risk
Rating
(High /
Medium
/Low)
Additional Control Measures Required
Revised
Risk
Rating
(High/
Mediu
m/Low)
Action by
who
Action by
when
Date
action
complete
Ethics & Governance Review Application Form for Students on Taught Programmes _September 2020

All members of staff and relevant students affected by this risk assessment (i.e. the research team) are to sign and date to confirm
they have read and understood it and will abide by it.
NAME SIGNATURE DATE
NEXT: Please complete Section G: Applicant Declaration 
Ethics & Governance Review Application Form for Students on Taught Programmes _September 2020