The Review Process
See our FEES PAGE for our current charges for review.
Standard Monthly and Koha Reviews
For Standard Monthly Review:
- Applications close at 6pm on the 15th of the month, except for December.
- The committee currently meets to review applications on the Monday after the last Sunday.
- Koha reviews are conducted alongside standard reviews at the monthly meeting.
- We aim to return review feedback within 7-10 working days after the review meeting.
Expedited Review
We have a limited capacity to offer an Expedited Review service. Expedited reviews:
- Are conducted by a sub-committee on an ad hoc basis within capacity constraints.
- If applicants choose this option, we suggest contacting us beforehand to ensure capacity and to let us know the topic of the project. This allows us to form the sub-committee ahead of submission so the process can proceed smoothly.
- In an Expedited Review, feedback is provided by a sub-committee within 7 days.
When an application is submitted, we initially screen to ensure all required information is present. We may contact applicants to seek clarification on some points, especially if there is time to address these before the committee’s review meeting.
We see the review process as a guided conversation between the committee and the researcher. At the review meeting, the task of the full ethics committee is to not only highlight ethical dilemmas, but also to suggest how issues may be satisfactorily resolved if possible.
What happens after the review meeting?
After the meeting, we compile the committee’s review feedback, the Chair confirms the feedback, and we will then send it to the applicant. We allow 7-10 working days for this process.
We will ask applicants to respond to the review feedback, clarify points where necessary, and return any amended materials. There is no deadline to return the response.
Once we receive the response to the review, we aim to review the response within 7 working days. We may seek further clarification if necessary.
When the Chair is satisfied that the research meets ethical standards, they will move to approve the project and an approval letter will be issued.
Expedited Review Process: After the review feedback has been sent to applicants, the expedited review process follows the same steps as above, but we aim to review responses within 4 working days. When the Chair of the Expedited Review Sub-committee is satisfied that the research meets ethical standards, they will move to approve the project and an approval letter will be issued.
How long will the review process take?
It is difficult to say how long the review process will take. It can depend on how many issues are identified at review and how long it might take for applicants to address or clarify the points raised by the committee. The biggest delays are often in the length of time it takes applicants to craft and return a response to review. Timeframes to receive ethical approval can therefore vary.