Category / Research Ethics

UK Research Integrity Office – Free Webinar – Social Media and Ethics – Last chance to book

UKRIO LogoUKRIO has announced details of a forthcoming Free Webinar “Social Media and Ethics” on Wednesday 21st February from 10:00 – 11:00 BST. 

Research using social media data presents several ethical issues that researchers must navigate to ensure the responsible and respectful use of this data. Some of the primary ethical issues in research using social media includes privacy and informed consent, anonymity and confidentiality, data ownership and terms of use, ethical use of algorithms and AI, sensitive topics and vulnerable populations, consent and minors, deception and online identity, unintended consequences, and transparency and reproducibility.This webinar discusses these ethical concerns that require a combination of thoughtful consideration, adherence to research guidelines, and engagement with relevant stakeholders, including social media platforms and users.

Dr Nicolas Gold, Associate Professor  in Computer Science will lead the webinar, which will cover:

  • The identification of some key ethics issues when using social media data.
  • An approach to constructing arguments for ethically defensible research in this space.
  • A brief “tour” of some platform terms and their potential impact on research.

This webinar is aimed at all researchers using social media and those involved in the ethical review process of projects.

As BU subscribes to UKRIO services, UKRIO webinars are free and open to anyone who may be interested in research integrity and ethics, good research practice and improving research culture and avoiding misconduct.

To register – please click here (takes you to external website).

UK Research Integrity Office – Free Webinar – Social Media and Ethics

UKRIO LogoUKRIO has announced details of a forthcoming Free Webinar “Social Media and Ethics” on Wednesday 21st February from 10:00 – 11:00 BST. 

Research using social media data presents several ethical issues that researchers must navigate to ensure the responsible and respectful use of this data. Some of the primary ethical issues in research using social media includes privacy and informed consent, anonymity and confidentiality, data ownership and terms of use, ethical use of algorithms and AI, sensitive topics and vulnerable populations, consent and minors, deception and online identity, unintended consequences, and transparency and reproducibility.This webinar discusses these ethical concerns that require a combination of thoughtful consideration, adherence to research guidelines, and engagement with relevant stakeholders, including social media platforms and users.

Dr Nicolas Gold, Associate Professor  in Computer Science will lead the webinar, which will cover:

  • The identification of some key ethics issues when using social media data.
  • An approach to constructing arguments for ethically defensible research in this space.
  • A brief “tour” of some platform terms and their potential impact on research.

This webinar is aimed at all researchers using social media and those involved in the ethical review process of projects.

As BU subscribes to UKRIO services, UKRIO webinars are free and open to anyone who may be interested in research integrity and ethics, good research practice and improving research culture and avoiding misconduct.

To register – please click here (takes you to external website).

UK Research Integrity Office – Free Subscriber Only Webinar – Social Media and Ethics

UKRIO LogoUKRIO has announced details of a forthcoming Free Webinar “Social Media and Ethics” on Wednesday 21st February from 10:00 – 11:00 BST. 

Research using social media data presents several ethical issues that researchers must navigate to ensure the responsible and respectful use of this data. Some of the primary ethical issues in research using social media includes privacy and informed consent, anonymity and confidentiality, data ownership and terms of use, ethical use of algorithms and AI, sensitive topics and vulnerable populations, consent and minors, deception and online identity, unintended consequences, and transparency and reproducibility.This webinar discusses these ethical concerns that require a combination of thoughtful consideration, adherence to research guidelines, and engagement with relevant stakeholders, including social media platforms and users.

Dr Nicolas Gold, Associate Professor  in Computer Science will lead the webinar, which will cover:

  • The identification of some key ethics issues when using social media data.
  • An approach to constructing arguments for ethically defensible research in this space.
  • A brief “tour” of some platform terms and their potential impact on research.

This webinar is aimed at all researchers using social media and those involved in the ethical review process of projects.

As BU subscribes to UKRIO services, UKRIO webinars are free and open to anyone who may be interested in research integrity and ethics, good research practice and improving research culture and avoiding misconduct.

To register – please click here (takes you to external website).

UK Research Integrity Office – Free Subscriber Only Webinar

UKRIO LogoUKRIO has announced details of a forthcoming Free Webinar “Introduction to Research Integrity” on Wednesday 18th October from 10:00 – 11:00 BST. 

The webinar will look at the challenges involved in ensuring that research is high quality and of high ethical standards, discuss the pressures faced by researchers and explore what researchers and organisations can do to safeguard and enhance good research practice.

During the webinar the following will be discussed:

  • How straightforward is it to achieve good research practice?
  • What does ‘good’ research look like and what are the challenges involved?
  • What does a good research environment look like and how can organisational culture help – or harm – research quality?
  • What impact can ‘research culture’ – the environment and ethos of research organisations – have on the quality and ethical standards of research?
  • Do incentives and competition improve the conduct of research or increase mistakes and other problems?

This webinar is aimed at all researchers. 

As BU subscribes to UKRIO services, UKRIO webinars are free and open to anyone who may be interested in research integrity and ethics, good research practice and improving research culture and avoiding misconduct.

To register – please click here (takes you to external website).

UK Research Integrity Office – Free Subscriber Only Webinar

UKRIO LogoUKRIO has announced details of a forthcoming Free Webinar “Introduction to Research Integrity” on Wednesday 18th October from 10:00 – 11:00 BST. 

The webinar will look at the challenges involved in ensuring that research is high quality and of high ethical standards, discuss the pressures faced by researchers and explore what researchers and organisations can do to safeguard and enhance good research practice.

During the webinar the following will be discussed:

  • How straightforward is it to achieve good research practice?
  • What does ‘good’ research look like and what are the challenges involved?
  • What does a good research environment look like and how can organisational culture help – or harm – research quality?
  • What impact can ‘research culture’ – the environment and ethos of research organisations – have on the quality and ethical standards of research?
  • Do incentives and competition improve the conduct of research or increase mistakes and other problems?

This webinar is aimed at all researchers. 

As BU subscribes to UKRIO services, UKRIO webinars are free and open to anyone who may be interested in research integrity and ethics, good research practice and improving research culture and avoiding misconduct.

To register – please click here (takes you to external website).

Panel recruitment: Expression of Interest for Deputy Chair, Social Sciences & Humanities Research Ethics Panel (Professoriate only)

Dear Members of the Professoriate,

Expressions of interest (EoIs) are invited for the prestigious and honorary role of Deputy Chair, Social Sciences & Humanities Research Ethics Panel.   The central research ethics panels work across the university to champion the highest ethical standards in research undertaken by staff and students (PGR).

The attached document provides further information about the role and the application process. Expressions of interest should consist of a CV and brief statement outlining your suitability for the role. These should be submitted to the RDS (researchethics@bournemouth.ac.uk) by 5pm on Monday 25 September 2023.

For an informal discussion about the role please contact:

If you have any questions regarding the process, please email Sarah Bell or Suzy Wignall by email to researchethics@bournemouth.ac.uk.

UK Research Integrity Office – Free Subscriber only Webinar

UKRIO LogoUKRIO has announced details of a forthcoming Free Webinar “Introduction to Research Integrity” on Wednesday 18th October from 10:00 – 11:00 BST. 

The webinar will look at the challenges involved in ensuring that research is high quality and of high ethical standards, discuss the pressures faced by researchers and explore what researchers and organisations can do to safeguard and enhance good research practice.

During the webinar the following will be discussed:

  • How straightforward is it to achieve good research practice?
  • What does ‘good’ research look like and what are the challenges involved?
  • What does a good research environment look like and how can organisational culture help – or harm – research quality?
  • What impact can ‘research culture’ – the environment and ethos of research organisations – have on the quality and ethical standards of research?
  • Do incentives and competition improve the conduct of research or increase mistakes and other problems?

This webinar is aimed at all researchers. 

As BU subscribes to UKRIO services, UKRIO webinars are free and open to anyone who may be interested in research integrity and ethics, good research practice and improving research culture and avoiding misconduct.

To register – please click here (takes you to external website).

Introduction to Patient and Public Involvement

This half day course is an introduction to PPI and will:
1. Define PPI and why it matters
2. Explore the links between PPI and health equity
3. Explain how to deliver PPI and support those involved

It will be an interactive session, including input from someone with lived experience, talking about their involvement in research.

It will be delivered by Sue Bickler from the Involving People team at Help and Care, an organisation that ‘helps people and communities live the lives they choose’.

Sue has worked in the voluntary sector, local authorities, and health, and has substantial experience engaging with people and communities to ensure that services meet their needs.  Her current role brings together the four Healthwatch in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight (HIOW), ensuring that patient voice is central to decision making in the HIOW Integrated Care System and that people are equipped to support effective Patient and Public Involvement (PPI).

The session is funded by Clinical Research Network Wessex and is open to all health and care researchers working in Wessex including public contributors and community organisations.

Book your place here.  A link to the online training will then be sent to you.

Improving information for people taking part in clinical research

The Health Research Authority (HRA) has launched new Quality Standards to improve information given to people who are invited to take part in research. The Quality Standards have been launched alongside Design and Review Principles, which show researchers and Research Ethics Committees (REC) what the important ethical considerations are for participant information.

  • The new HRA Participant Information Quality Standards will help research organisations to understand what good participant information looks like, and will make clear to researchers what the Research Ethics Committees will consider as part of the ethics review, including the review of participant information. The REC will support researchers to create information that meets the Quality Standards.
  • The aim of the Quality Standards and Design and Review Principles is to make participant information better, and to make the way that RECs review that information more consistent. The documents set out the basic criteria that all participant information must meet, and covers language, accessibility, and mandatory content.

Next steps

The Quality Standards and Design and Review Principles will be phased in from autumn 2023. As study materials are prepared in advance, REC reviews of participant information will initially be presented to research organisations as recommendations as opposed to actions required for approval.

From December 2023, the Quality Standards and Design and Review principles will become mandatory and will be applied to all research applications submitted for review.

Changes to participant information are currently the most likely reason for ethics committees to give a provisional opinion. Using this guidance will increase the possibility of receiving a favourable opinion.

Available templates

Remember that BU has Participant Information Sheet templates that provide much of the required wording to ensure your participants are making a fully informed decision before agreeing to participate.

It is vital that when compiling your information sheets that you remember to include the HRA GDPR transparency wording.

Questions or concerns?

If you have any questions regarding these new standards or about clinical research in general, please email Suzy Wignall, Clinical Governance Advisor – swignall@bournemouth.ac.uk or clinicalresearch@bournemouth.ac.uk

NIHR Be Part of Research platform

The NIHR Be Part of Research platform is an online service that makes it easy for research participants to find and take part in health and social care research. Participants may search for trials and studies taking place looking at certain health conditions and in locations accessible to them.

Clinical researchers may also make use of the service to extend their recruitment and widen their recruitment methods, as the platform has been designed to make it easier for researchers and potential study participants to find each other.

Using Be Part of Research to recruit participants

To use the service for your recruitment, the study must meet the following requirements:

  • Be funded or supported by the NIHR. This includes studies on the NIHR Clinical Research Network Portfolio.
  • Have Research Ethics Committee approval to use the service as a recruitment tool.
  • Have a dedicated point of contact such as a pre-screener or website for interested volunteers to engage with your research team.

Getting your study onto the Be Part of Research platform

Once your study has been registered on either ISRCTNClinicalTrials.gov, or on the NIHR Clinical Research Network (CRN) Central Portfolio Management System (CPMS), your project will then appear on Be Part of Research. Given those visiting the site are mostly patients and members of the public, medical and scientific terminology should be omitted when writing your study summary, with plain English used to ensure the information is accessible to a broad audience. In order to do this, you should:
  • Keep it short – but don’t oversimplify it. The reader must understand what the study is trying to achieve.
  • Imagine you are talking to the reader.
  • Take out any jargon.
  • Make sure you cover the what, why, when, where and how so they have the basics of your study.

Additionally, to make sure that participants contact the appropriate person, the contact details provided on ISRCTN or ClinicalTrials.gov should be up to date and accurate. In general, the registry record should be monitored continuously so that any changes are reflected on Be Part of Research as soon as possible.

Further support/contact

If you have any questions regarding the platform or regarding clinical research in general, please email Suzy Wignall, Clinical Governance Advisor: swignall@bournemouth.ac.uk or clinicalresearch@bournemouth.ac.uk

Deadline for submissions: Science, Technology & Health Research Ethics Panel

Please note that the deadline for submission (ethics checklist and supporting documents) for consideration at the next Science, Technology & Health July Panel is end of Tuesday 11th July, not the 19th July as originally posted.

Please ensure your paperwork is submitted on time as submissions are sent to Panel members 5 working days ahead of each Panel meeting for review.  Late submissions will be deferred to the next panel.  PGRs – please note that submissions are sent to your Supervisor in the first instance, so please allow sufficient time before the Panel’s closing date for applications.

REMEMBER: Panel meetings are not held in August.

Research Ethics Panel meetings in August

A Reminder for Staff and Postgraduate Researchers

Research Ethics

There are no central Research Ethics Panel (REP) meetings held during August, so if you’re hoping to start data collection activities over the summer and are in the process of completing your research ethics checklist, please keep this in mind when planning your research activities and submit your checklist in time for the final REP meetings to be held in July.  Checklists received during August which need to be reviewed by a full Panel will be deferred until September (dates to be advised).

REPs review all staff projects and postgraduate research projects which have been identified as high risk through the online ethics checklist.  Details on what constitutes high risk can be found on the research governance, research ethics & integrity website.

There are two central REPs:

  • Science, Technology & Health
  • Social Sciences & Humanities

Staff and PGR ‘high risk’ projects are reviewed by one of the central REPs and Researchers (including PGR Supervisors) will normally be invited to Panel for discussions.

Staff Projects which are ‘low risk’

Reviews for low risk projects will continue as normal during August (via email), although turnaround may take longer than normal due to Reviewer availability during this month.

PGR Projects which are ‘low risk’

There are no changes to the review and approval process for low risk PGR projects and reviews will continues as normal throughout August, again subject to the availability of Supervisor and assigned Ethics Champions.

More details about the review process and REP meeting dates can be found on the governance, research ethics & integrity website.  Email enquiries should be sent to researchethics@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Research Ethics Panel Meetings in August

A Reminder for Staff and Postgraduate Researchers

Research Ethics

There are no central Research Ethics Panel (REP) meetings held during August, so if you’re hoping to start data collection activities over the summer and are in the process of completing your research ethics checklist, please keep this in mind when planning your research activities and submit your checklist in time for the final REP meetings to be held in July.  Checklists received during August which need to be reviewed by a full Panel will be deferred until September (dates to be advised).

REPs review all staff projects and postgraduate research projects which have been identified as high risk through the online ethics checklist.  Details on what constitutes high risk can be found on the research governance, research ethics & integrity website.

There are two central REPs:

  • Science, Technology & Health
  • Social Sciences & Humanities

Staff and PGR ‘high risk’ projects are reviewed by one of the central REPs and Researchers (including PGR Supervisors) will normally be invited to Panel for discussions.

Staff Projects which are ‘low risk’

Reviews for low risk projects will continue as normal during August (via email), although turnaround may take longer than normal due to Reviewer availability during this month.

PGR Projects which are ‘low risk’

There are no changes to the review and approval process for low risk PGR projects and reviews will continues as normal throughout August, again subject to the availability of Supervisor and assigned Ethics Champions.

More details about the review process and REP meeting dates can be found on the governance, research ethics & integrity website.  Email enquiries should be sent to researchethics@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Research Ethics Panel Meetings in August

A Reminder for Staff and Postgraduate Researchers

Research Ethics

There are no central Research Ethics Panel (REP) meetings held during August, so if you’re hoping to start data collection activities over the summer and are in the process of completing your research ethics checklist, please keep this in mind when planning your research activities and submit your checklist in time for the final REP meetings to be held in June and July.  Checklists received during August which need to be reviewed by a full Panel will be deferred until September (dates to be advised).

REPs review all staff projects and postgraduate research projects which have been identified as high risk through the online ethics checklist.  Details on what constitutes high risk can be found on the research governance, research ethics & integrity website.

There are two central REPs:

  • Science, Technology & Health
  • Social Sciences & Humanities

Staff and PGR ‘high risk’ projects are reviewed by one of the central REPs and Researchers (including PGR Supervisors) will normally be invited to Panel for discussions.

Staff Projects which are ‘low risk’

Reviews for low risk projects will continue as normal during August (via email), although turnaround may take longer than normal due to Reviewer availability during this month.

PGR Projects which are ‘low risk’

There are no changes to the review and approval process for low risk PGR projects and reviews will continues as normal throughout August, again subject to the availability of Supervisor and assigned Ethics Champions.

More details about the review process and REP meeting dates can be found on the governance, research ethics & integrity website.  Email enquiries should be sent to researchethics@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Research Ethics Panel Meetings in August

A Reminder for Staff and Postgraduate Researchers

Research Ethics

There are no central Research Ethics Panel (REP) meetings held during August, so if you’re hoping to start data collection activities over the summer and are in the process of completing your research ethics checklist, please keep this in mind when planning your research activities and submit your checklist in time for the final REP meetings to be held in June and July.  Checklists received during August which need to be reviewed by a full Panel will be deferred until September (dates to be advised).

REPs review all staff projects and postgraduate research projects which have been identified as high risk through the online ethics checklist.  Details on what constitutes high risk can be found on the research governance, research ethics & integrity website.

There are two central REPs:

  • Science, Technology & Health
  • Social Sciences & Humanities

Staff and PGR ‘high risk’ projects are reviewed by one of the central REPs and Researchers (including PGR Supervisors) will normally be invited to Panel for discussions.

Staff Projects which are ‘low risk’

Reviews for low risk projects will continue as normal during August (via email), although turnaround may take longer than normal due to Reviewer availability during this month.

PGR Projects which are ‘low risk’

There are no changes to the review and approval process for low risk PGR projects and reviews will continues as normal throughout August, again subject to the availability of Supervisor and assigned Ethics Champions.

More details about the review process and REP meeting dates can be found on the governance, research ethics & integrity website.  Email enquiries should be sent to researchethics@bournemouth.ac.uk.

 

Free workshop – Data management basics: Ethical and legal issues in data sharing

Data management is essential to make sure that well-organised, well-documented, high quality and shareable research data can be produced from our research projects.

The free introductory workshops on data management basics are intended for researchers and anyone who wants to learn about research data management.

The first session, scheduled for 4th May 10am – 11.30am: Introduction to data management and sharing, provides an overview of how to manage, document and store research data. This second session focuses on the ethical and legal aspects of data management.

In this free 90-minute online workshop, participants will learn about the relevant legislation, such as data protection legislation and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Participants will also learn about strategies that enable them to share research data. This includes carrying out an assessment of disclosure risk, obtaining informed consent, anonymising data and regulating access to enable data to be shared.

There will be time at the end for questions and discussion.

This event is part of our UK Data Service introductory training series: Spring 2023.

Register for this workshop here.