Ethical Review Feedback Sheet
Applicant Name:
Supervisor:
Project Title:
Name(s) of Reviewer(s):
Yes
No
Comments
Section 1 – General Information
Is all the required information
provided?
Check that Supervisor and Independent
Adviser are named, that dates are given
etc.
Section 2 – Consent & Care of Participants
Are there any areas of concern
identified in questions 1-10 (i.e.
researcher has selected “No” to any
of these items)?
Are there any areas of concern
identified in questions 11-14 (i.e.
researcher has selected “Yes” to any
of these items)?
Has the researcher ticked the correct
box A or B?
1. Background Information
Is adequate background information
provided for the research?
2. Aims & Research Questions
Are the aims & research questions
clear?
3. Participants
Are there any concerns about the
nature and size of the sample?
Are there any concerns about the
inclusion/exclusion criteria?
Are there any concerns about the
recruitment strategy?
Self-explanatory.
Self-explanatory.
If the researcher selects “No” to any of
questions 1-10 and/or “Yes” to questions
11-14, they should complete Box B;
otherwise, they should complete Box A.
Section 3 – Box A/B
The research should be justified and have
a literature base. References should be
provided.
Self-explanatory.
The nature of sample and the expected
number of participants should be clearly
stated and appropriate to the
methodology.
These should be clearly stated. Check for
details such as: age range, gender, health
status. Also any factors that would exclude
participants from the study such as
currently taking medication or
supplements that may impact on the
results of the study.
The recruitment strategy should be clearly
stated and appropriate. NB – some
students will be accessing participants
through the psychology participation
panel. This is a group of psychology
students who were approached in week 1
meetings and who indicated that they were
happy to be contacted by email about
research opportunities. The data were
collected by the psychology technician,
Maria Shaw, and are held securely by her.
Researchers will contact Maria directly to
access members of the panel who meet
their inclusion/exclusion criteria.
4. Research Methods & Measurements
Is the project outline sufficiently
detailed to allow a decision about
ethical aspects?
Need to provide a detailed account of the
research methods including information on
all data collection protocols/procedures,
including how long the study will take,
where it will take place, and data storage.
5. Risks to Participants and Researchers
Are there any concerns about
potential risks to participants?
Where there is a potential risk to
participants, the researcher should identify
this risk and indicate how they will deal
with this.
6. Consent and participant information arrangements, debriefing
Are there any concerns about the
Researchers should provide details on
consent, participant information or
how they will provide participant
debriefing arrangements?
information, how participants will indicate
their consent, and how participants will be
debriefed.
7. Ethical Considerations (Box B only)
Are there any ethical issues that have
not been addressed adequately?
Any ethical issues identified in questions
1-14 (“Yes” to 1-10, “No” to 11-14) should
be justified, and a statement given of how
the researcher will deal with these
potential issues.
Section 4 – Additional Information & Declaration
Are all the required additional
The Participant Information sheet, the
materials supplied?
consent form, debrief sheet should be
attached, as well as any questionnaires,
interview schedules, recruitment
information (poster, email text), evidence
of permission from outside organisations,
any other materials given to participants.
Where applicable, are additional
Participant Information sheets, consent
materials on headed paper?
forms and debrief sheets should be printed
on headed paper.
Is the language on any additional
The language used should be appropriate
materials appropriate?
to the potential sample (non-academic).
Are the contact details for the
Contact details (address, email,
researcher, the supervisor and the
telephone) should be provided for the
independent advisor provided on the
research, their supervisor and the
Participant Information and debrief
independent advisor. Students should only
sheets?
give their university contact details.
Has the declaration been signed?
The student and supervisor should sign
the paper copy of the application.
Recommendation of Reviewers:
[Reviewers using the email version should
leave this question blank.]
Participant Information Sheet
Is there sufficient information provided
to enable the participant to give
informed consent?
Is there information about the
maintenance of privacy and
confidentiality for the participant’s
personal details?
Consent Form
Is the form structured appropriately,
providing clear evidence of informed
consent?
Debrief Sheet
Are there any concerns about the
debrief sheet?
Potential participants should be told what
will happen to them during the research,
where the research will be carried out and
how much time it will take. All
procedures/protocols should be explained
fully so there is little, if any, doubt in the
participants mind about what the research
involves
Participants should be informed that their
information will be anonymous, that all
data will be stored on a password
protected device that only the researcher
has access to and that all data will be
destroyed upon completion of the study.
Self-explanatory. Students are given a
template to use.
The debrief sheet should thank
participants, provide an overview of the
study, explain any deception, provide
contact details for any appropriate support
organisations etc.
Other additional materials (e.g. questionnaires, interview schedules, stimuli, evidence of
permission, recruitment posters/text)
Are there any concerns about any
Self-explanatory.
other additional materials?
Approved
Points to be addressed:
Referred
Rationale for this and action(s)
Rejected