The Professional Services Research Ethics Committee (ProSREC) aims to provide advice and support about research ethics to staff within the Professional Services Directorate.
If you are conducting, or planning to conduct, research within any of these departments, you may need ethics approval from ProSREC before commencing your work. On these web pages you will be able to find all the information you need to determine whether you need such approval, and if so, how to obtain it.
The University’s Code of Practice applies to all academic activities. It therefore applies to activities that could be defined as research undertaken within Professional Services departments, particularly those involving human participants and their data.
The need for ethical consideration by this committee covers both traditional empirical research methods such as questionnaires, and also other methods of data collection. For example focus groups where personal data is collected or sensitive topics are covered.
The University uses the Frascati definition to determine whether a project should be classified as research:
Research and experimental development (R&D) comprise creative and systematic work undertaken in order to increase the stock of knowledge – including knowledge of humankind, culture and society – and to devise new applications of available knowledge.
For further details, see Is this project research or not?
It is worth noting that this page is written from a funding perspective which may not be relevant in some cases.
When would ethics approval generally not be required:
If you’re unsure if your project is research, get in touch: prof-serv-rec@york.ac.
This tab explains the process of applying to the Professional Services research ethics committee for ethics approval. If you have any questions about the process, email prof-serve-rec@york.ac.uk for clarification.
1. Researcher completes the submission form and accompanying documentation ie information sheet/s, consent form/s, and any other supporting documents.
2. Researcher submits the form with accompanying documentation to prof-serve-rec@york.ac.uk
Depending on the nature of your project, in order to complete your application you may need to:
- Complete a data management plan,
- Consult the Research and Knowledge Exchange Contracts Team to ensure appropriate contracts and/or data sharing arrangements are in place,
- Develop any questionnaires that will be used during your research as they may need to be submitted before approval can be given,
- Ensure any planned incentives align with the Policy on the Payment of Individuals for Involvement With and Contribution to Research.
In all cases, you are expected to have read the Guidance on Data Storage and Protection before completing your application.
Links to guidance and useful templates can be found on the sidebar to the right.
3. Committee responds
The committee will respond to submissions within a maximum of four weeks, but will endeavour to respond sooner than this. The applicant should not start the research until approval has been given.
The committee will respond by email once the submission has been reviewed.
The response will indicate whether the application has been:
Please note that as per the Code of practice and principles for good ethical governance retrospective ethical approval is fundamentally unethical and is not permitted. You must not start collecting research data prior to obtaining ethical approval.
The Committee will meet at least twice a year.
Three staff members appointed by Professional Services Heads of Department
Three members from the University Academic Community
One Lay member
Student Representative
In attendance
Who to contact
Other useful links
Drafting GDPR compliant privacy notices
Ethics Code of Practice for academic activity
Policy on the Payment of Individuals for Involvement with and Contribution to Research
Checklist of areas where ethical considerations are likely to arise (PDF , 409kb)
Data Protection Impact Assessments
ICO Guidance on Pseudonymisation
Useful templates
Consent Form for Online Anonymous Questionnaire (MS Word , 46kb)
Informed Consent Form Example (MS Word , 26kb)
Generic Research Privacy Notice (MS Word , 19kb)
Data Management Plan template (MS Word , 18kb)