Complete an ethics application form or request an amendment
How to complete and submit an ethics application through the School of Health in Social Science.
Process and Procedures
In March 2021, the ethics application and approval process changed within the School of Health in Social Science, students and staff need to use the most recent version of the form available below. Supervisors of hould submit the form on behalf of the student.
There are now two levels of approval, Level 1 and Level 2, and each have different timescales which are outlined in the table below.
Clinical Psychology students should also read this extra information detailing additional attachments and requirements for their application.
Applications for UG and Taught MSc students must now be submitted by a Supervisor. PhD/MScR students are responsible for completing their own application. Please note that all applications must be submitted as a word document, not a PDF.
Application Timelines
| Subject area | Level 1 | Level 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Nursing Studies | up to 2 weeks | up to 6 weeks |
| Clinical Psychology | up to 2 weeks | up to 6 weeks |
| Counselling, Psychotherapy and Applied Social Science | up to 2 weeks | up to 10 weeks |
*Applications will only be reviewed once all information, including relevant attachments, are provided and therefore these timelines may take longer if we have any queries or need to request further information.
Amendments
Any amendments may take up to two weeks. Only 3 amendments will be allowed to a single application. Any more than 3 amendments will require a new application to be submitted.
Download the form
All application forms must be submitted as a Word document.
Full details of how to submit your application can be found on the forms below.
Once you have read all of the information available, please submit your completed form to ethics.hiss@ed.ac.uk.
Resources and Training
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have any queries or questions that are not answered by the frequently asked questions or within your subject area information, please contact us at ethics.hiss@ed.ac.uk.
All research undertaken by staff and students under the auspices of the School of Health in Social Science requires prior ethical approval.
Your supervisor will need to apply for ethics approval on your behalf. Please work with them to fully complete the application form that is located on this webpage.
Please ensure your application form is submitted as a Word document, not a PDF. The application needs to be submitted as a Word document so that it can be reviewed correctly throughout the process and edited with comments and feedback. All other documents can be submitted in PDF.
The definitions of Level 1 and Level 2 should help you identify what documents should be included with your application, however, if you are unsure you should talk to your supervisor.
Yes. The Ethics Committee must see all front-facing documents to ensure that all appropriate information is presented.
Please talk to your supervisor if you are unsure of the level.
This will depend on your subject area, whether your application is Level 1 or Level 2 and whether all the relevant information has been included from the outset. Full details are available on the table above.
Please note that if any documentation is missing, if there are errors within the completed form or any queries arise throughout the process, these timescales may be increased.
If your project already has ethical approval from an external agency you still need to complete a Level 1 application form to ensure you are following University policies and guidelines. Please also attach the externally approved application, approval letters, and relevant approved attachments (i.e. participant info sheets, consent, debriefs, social media adverts etc).
IRAS can be ethical approval (NHS REC) and/or management approval (R&D), and that management approval is not an ethical opinion (e.g. projects involving only NHS staff or facilities will not go through NHS ethics).
Please note that your project and related documents will not undergo a full additional ethical review by the School of Health in Social Sciences Research Ethics Committee, however, we need to ensure your project is adhering to University regulations before you begin collecting data.
Visit our dedicated Sponsorship and Governance webpage for full details.
Please contact ethics.hiss@ed.ac.uk if you have a question or haven't received your outcome within the timescales detailed above. If you need to make an amendment, please add this to your application form, clearly marked, and re-send the updated version to this email address.