Application for Research Ethics Approval
School of Business Law Ethics Committee, TCD
The School of Law Research Ethics Committee is a Level One Committee. It reviews research
projects that are of low to moderate risk to participants, as follows:
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Anonymous surveys of a non-intrusive personal nature.
Unrecorded and anonymous observation of individuals in public areas.
Analysis of irrevocably anonymized and appropriately collected data.
Interviews (consensual) with non-vulnerable adults.
Action research
Surveys where respondents can be identified and where respondents have given appropriate
consent.
Research that carries with it a moderate to high risk to participants, as described below, should be
reviewed by a Level Two Committee.
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Surveys asking questions of a sensitive or private nature
Questionnaires or observational studies involving children or vulnerable adults.
Research where there is a risk of a participant feeling undue pressure to participate by virtue of
his/her relationship with the researcher (e.g. student/supervisor; patient/clinician).
Projects involving a justifiable degree of deception.
Analysis of archival irrevocably anonymised human tissue samples for which consent for
research was not originally given, and was not acquired in the course of clinical treatment.
Research involving invasive procedures (other than those listed above).
Research involving vulnerable persons.
Research where identifiable information obtained may have legal, economic or social
consequences for research subjects.
Research that may identify illegal activity.
Projects where each subject is paid (over and above token gestures).
Research that may potentially endanger the subjects/ researchers/3rd parties, the environment.
Research involving the collection of human tissue.
Research that may have a direct military role.
Research conducted outside Ireland.
Research involving psychological intervention.
Research where a potentially beneficial or harmful treatment, information or learning
method may be withheld from some participants.
Please complete the checklist below before submitting your application
Yes
If you are a student, has your supervisor signed this completed form?
Please attach the following:
 Any data collection tools you propose to use (eg questionnaire, interview
schedule)
 The consent form you propose to use
 The participant information sheet you propose to use
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No
Name of Applicant
Academic Supervisor/ Lead
Researcher
For students this is the name of your
supervisor. For staff this is the PI if
different from the applicant
Discipline
Title of project
Timeframe of research
Provide a brief timetable of the
proposed research, particularly
indicating data collection.
Funder
Where research is funded, give details
of the funder and indicate whether
the funder requires that ethical
approval is secured for this project
Requirement for Ethical Approval
a) Where another party has
explicitly required ethical
approval for this project,
please provide details.
b) If you are required to seek
further ethical approval from
another committee after this
application, please provide
details.
Purpose of research
Provide a summary of the research,
written in terms that a non-specialist
would understand.
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Justification for the research
Indicate the contribution that the
research is anticipated to make.
Participants in the research
Provide details of the population to
be studied, and sampling procedures
to be used.
Recruitment procedures
Explain your recruitment procedure
and include an explanation of any
incentives and/or compensation
(financial or otherwise) to be offered
to participants.
Informed consent
Outline the information that will be
provided to potential participants,
and procedures for gaining consent (if
this will be in printed form, please
supply a copy of it).
Methods
Outline the methods that will be used
for data collection and analysis
(including the proposed location of
any interviews or surveys) and
provide interview or survey questions
where these are being used. If a semistructured interview is proposed, give
an indicative list of the questions to
be posed.
Confidentiality, anonymity, and data
storage
Provide an explanation of all
measures that will be put in place to
preserve confidentiality and
anonymity, including an explicit
explanation of secure data storage
and disposal plans. Note that there
may be a need to store data for 5
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years (and sometimes more) after
completion of the project.
Ethical considerations and potential
risks to participants
Identify any risks that may exist.
Where potential risks to participants
may be present, explain any steps
that will be taken to minimize these
and any additional support that might
be used should the need arise.
Published ethical guidelines to be
followed
Identify any professional code(s) of
practice and/or ethical guidelines, if
any, relevant to the research.
Travel outside Ireland
Provide information on any travel to
be undertaken outside Ireland. Any
travel planned for countries with
heightened risk should be given
detailed explanation and justification.
Self-care
Identify any significant risk issues to
yourself as researcher and any selfcare planning that you will use to
address these.
Signature of applicant:
I declare that I have read the TCD
Ethics Policy and will follow the
guidelines therein.
For student applications: I also
confirm that this application has
already been reviewed and is
supported by my supervisor.
Signature of the Chair of the School
Signature:
[A typed name is acceptable as long as it is submitted
from applicant’s TCD email address, as verified by
Chair of Ethics Committee below]
Date:
Name of Supervisor: [For student applications]
Signature:
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of Law Research Ethics Committee1
In my capacity as Chair of the
School’s Ethics Committee, I confirm
that this project has been approved by
the School’s Ethics Committee
Date:
1
This application form was adapted from that used by the School of Business and School of Social Sciences &
Philosophy, TCD and we gratefully acknowledge our colleagues assistance in this regard
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