Guidance notes for SALTS Ambassadors applying for ethical review of their projects (please read
these notes in conjunction with the Student Services research ethics application form)
These notes are designed to give you some background information on the SALT projects and ethical
review, and to guide you through filling out the application form. Many of the categories on the
form are self-explanatory so not all sections are covered in the guidance. If there’s anything you’re
unsure about, speak to your project supervisor or the Projects and Student Partnerships Manager in
ALS.
General background
The SALT (Student Ambassadors for Learning and Teaching) scheme aims to get student input into
learning and teaching development work within the University. SALTs are students who are
employed to work in teams on specific development projects. Each project is based within a
particular faculty or professional services department and responds to strategic needs identified by
that department/faculty. Each SALT team and project is supported by two staff members, and the
Projects and Student Partnerships Manager in the Projects and Development team has overall
responsibility for the SALT scheme. Each project will have its own aims and objectives, but they will
all seek to improve the student experience at the University through developing learning, teaching
and student support.
Not all SALT projects involve research, but a number of projects will involve research. This usually
involves gathering information from students and other stakeholders in order to inform the project’s
development, to create resources or to make recommendations to the University.
SALTs will all receive training in ethical principles and, where projects do involve research, SALTs will
receive more in-depth training and guidance on how to fulfil the requirements listed in this form.
The staff who work with SALT teams will also receive guidance and support to ensure that they are
aware of the ethical standards that need to be met and can support their SALT teams to act ethically.
SALT projects
Each SALT project is different, and will use research methods such as:
-
Surveys
Focus groups
One to one interviews
Observation (e.g. observation of how students use mobile devices in lectures)
Pilots (e.g. getting students to try out a new course or service)
The research participants may include:
-
Current students
University staff
Alumni
Employers
Members of the local community
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Staff will support each SALT team to develop an appropriate methodology for their project and to
think through the ethical implications of their research design and methods.
Completing your form:
Please remember to fill out all sections of the form clearly and concisely and attach all relevant
documentation e.g. information sheets, consent forms, text for any email or letters, questions to be
used in surveys or focus groups, guidance for focus group moderators etc.
A4.
Briefly summarise:
i.
The project’s aims and objectives:
(this must be in language comprehensible to a lay person)
Use this section to explain what it is the project is aiming to achieve – please be as specific as
you can in this section – don’t just say for example, that you’re aiming to improve the
student experience – HOW are you going to improve that experience? Will your project
change the way something is currently done – how will it do that, and why did it need
changing in the first place? What are the strategic needs that your project is responding to?
And how will the results of your project meet those needs? These are the kinds of things you
need to be clear on - if you’re not quite clear about them at this stage then it’s probably too
early to be filling in your application form and you might need to have further discussions
with your supervisor.
ii. The project’s methodology:
(this must be in language comprehensible to a lay person)
This section is for you to talk about the project’s design and the methodology you will be
using to collect your data/information. You should state whether you are collecting
qualitative or quantitative data (or both) and what methods you will use to collect it e.g.
surveys, focus groups, questionnaires etc. Try to be clear about how the information/data
you are collecting will achieve the project’s aims and objectives.
C6.
What is the potential for physical and/or psychological harm/distress to participants?
The SALT projects are focused on educational experiences and developments at the
University and so the research is unlikely to cover any sensitive topics and the risk of
psychological harm/distress is low. However, if you think your project will cover any
sensitive topics e.g. race, religion, gender issues, physical or mental health issues etc. then
you must say so as your project will be classified as high risk and will need to be reviewed
slightly differently.
C7.
Does your research raise any issues of personal safety for you or other researchers
involved in the project? (especially if taking place outside working hours or off University
premises)
One-to-one meetings between participants and researchers should be avoided as this is not
best practice. Group meetings should ideally involve more than one researcher and should
not take place after hours or in isolated areas as there could be a small potential risk to
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personal safety for researchers as well as participants. If you have any doubts or worries
about the safety of your research please discuss with your supervisor. If your supervisor is
not going to be actually present when the research is carried out you must let them know
when and where it’s happening and take their advice on whether any additional safety
precautions are needed. Interviews/focus groups will be conducted on campus and
scheduled during normal opening hours for the buildings where they are held.
C8.
How will the potential participants in the project be:
i.
Identified?
This will depend on the project. The researchers will ensure that all participants are at least 18
years old. Student participants will be identified via student records data or via other opt-in
means (e.g. students responding to an email, online advertisement or poster calling for
participants).
ii.
Approached?
Depending on the project, participants will be approached using different methods such as email,
social media, online adverts, or in person (e.g. via a stall or by researchers approaching students
on campus).
iii.
Recruited?
This will depend on the project. Whatever method is used, research participants will be given
information in advance to help them decide whether to participate in the research. Participants
will have to actively opt in to the project. More details on how this will be done can be found in
section C9.1.
C9.
Will informed consent be obtained from the participants?
You must always get informed consent from all participants in your project. There are legal
requirements on storing and using personal data so it’s really important that your consent forms
and information sheets cover all the ways in which the data might be used, and that your
participants fully understand the information you give them on this subject.
C9.1. How do you plan to obtain informed consent? (i.e. the proposed process?):
Surveys: Surveys will contain information about the project to enable potential participants to
decide whether to take part. This could be via information on the front page of the survey or via a
link to another website.
A data protection statement will be included in the survey to say how the participants’ information
will be used (see the template text for surveys – SALTs will be able to adapt this to fit their project).
A question will be included in the survey asking participants to consent to their data being used in
this way (see template text for surveys).
Interviews/focus groups: Participants will be given an information sheet and asked to fill in a written
consent form before taking part in the interview/focus group (see the template participant
information sheet and template consent form – SALTs will be able to adapt these to fit their project).
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Don’t forget to attach your consent form and other docs to your application when you submit it.
C10. What measures will be put in place to ensure confidentiality of personal data, where
appropriate?
Physical data should be stored in one of 2 ways and you need to specify on your form which method
you will be using:
1. As soon as possible after collection, physical data should be transferred to a locked
cupboard or locked office. The staff who support each SALT project will need to provide a
space for this in their department or arrange for storage elsewhere in the University.
OR
2. As soon as possible after collection, physical data should be scanned and stored in a secure
Google drive folder. This folder will only be accessible to the SALT team and the staff who
support them. Physical copies will then be destroyed using the relevant department’s
procedure for destruction of confidential waste.
Audio recordings, video recordings or photographs should be transferred to a secure Google drive
folder as soon as possible after collection. This folder will only be accessible to the SALT team and
the staff who support them. Recordings should then be deleted from the audio recorder/video
recorder/camera. SALTs and staff should avoid storing data on personal devices (e.g. laptops) and
will instead use the shared Google Drive folder.
Survey responses should be stored on a secure survey platform (e.g. surveymonkey, Google forms)
and any downloaded responses will be stored in a secure Google drive folder. Both of these will only
be accessible to the SALT team and the staff who support them.
Other electronic data such as interview transcripts will be stored in a secure Google drive folder,
which will only be accessible to the SALT team and the staff who support them. SALTs and staff
should avoid storing data on personal devices (e.g. laptops) and instead use the shared Google Drive
folder.
If there is a need to keep the data after the end of the project, this must be clearly communicated to
participants and they must be asked to consent to their data being stored in this way. If the data
does not need to be retained, it should be destroyed at the end of the project.
If any data is to be shared outside of the research team (e.g. hosted on a website, used in a report,
used as part of a presentation) this must be clearly communicated to participants via the
information sheet and consent form, and informed consent must be gained for any such uses. You
must make clear to participants via these forms whether or not their data will be anonymized.
For more information on storing data and data protection in general please see the university
guidance at http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/cics/dataprotection
C11.
Will financial/in kind payments (other than reasonable expenses and compensation for
time) be offered to participants?
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On your form you should indicate whether or not financial or other incentives are being
offered; how much and on what basis this has been decided.
Surveys: Some surveys may use a prize draw as an incentive. A staff member will check that the
value and nature of the incentive is appropriate. A typical prize could be a £50/£100 voucher or a
number of smaller prizes. Prize draws will be conducted in accordance with the Market Research
Society’s Regulations for Administering Incentives and Free Prize Draws:
https://www.mrs.org.uk/pdf/Regulations%20for%20Incentives%20and%20Prize%20Draws%20July%
202015.pdf See ‘template text for surveys’ for some suggested text to use in surveys.
Interviews/focus groups: Some projects may offer incentives for attendance at interviews/focus
groups. A staff member will check that the value and nature of the incentive is appropriate. A typical
incentive would be a £10-£20 voucher for attending a one-hour interview/focus group. Alternatively,
or in addition, researchers may offer free food and drink as an incentive.
C12.1. This question is only applicable if you are planning to produce recorded media:
How will you ensure that there is a clear agreement with participants as to how these
recorded media may be stored, used and (if appropriate) destroyed?
Some projects may include the production of recorded media. As well as stating on the application
form how you will address this issue, you should explain in the information sheet and consent form
how media will be stored, used and (if appropriate) destroyed. You should ensure that participants
consent to the media being used in this way before proceeding with the recording (see section C9.1.
and template consent form).
Guidance on a range of ethical issues, including safety and well-being, consent and anonymity,
confidentiality and data protection is available at: www.shef.ac.uk/ris/other/govethics/ethicspolicy/policy-notes
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