To access Ethics@Bath, the new ethics review online system, please go to https://ethics.bath.ac.uk/.

Important updates

Please see our webportal for information about the new Ethics@Bath system and to access the system guides.

Introduction

On 3rd of April Ethics@Bath, a new online ethics software system for managing the consideration of ethical implications of research projects, became available for staff and Doctoral students. .

From the beginning of the next Academic Year, the system will also be available to Undergraduate and Masters students.

The system aims to help applicants submit and track their applications, as well as making it easier for the Research Ethics Committees and departmental-level staff to review, comment and provide opinions on the ethical implications of research projects.

Under the new research ethics governance process, all applications for ethical review are submitted via the online system, to ensure that all research carried out at the University is subjected to an appropriate ethics review that is proportionate to the potential risk of harm associated with the project.

The type of research being carried out will dictate the level of ethics review as described below.

Accessing the online ethics system

To create, amend, share, or sign an ethics application

Access the application system via https://ethics.bath.ac.uk/ and use your University email address (e.g. ab123@bath.ac.uk) and password to log in if asked.

To review ethics applications

If you are a Supervisor, DREO, ethics committee member or have been nominated as a second reader you can access the review side of Ethics@Bath via https://review.ethics.bath.ac.uk/. Please log in using your University email address (e.g. ab123@bath.ac.uk) and password.

Getting started

Once you have logged in, you will find application guidance and templates under the ‘Help’ menu in the top left of the screen.

Additional tips and guidance are also provided in (i) buttons throughout each section of the application.

Detailed Ethics@Bath guides can be found here.

Proportionate Review

For projects where the potential to do harm is classified as minimal, a proportionate review at departmental level is sufficient. This applies to Staff projects and to research being carried by Doctoral Students.

The ethical implications of Undergraduate and Masters projects will be considered at Departmental level.

For further details on Departmental-level sign-off process  please refer to the  workflows.

Research projects which are not eligible for consideration at departmental level will be reviewed at the University Research Ethics Committee level.

Committee level review

All research projects identified that entail more than a minimal risk of harm will be subjected to a full ethics review by one of the following Committees/Bodies:

• Externally Reviewed and Sponsorship
• Biomedical Science
• Social Sciences
• Data and Digital Science
• Animal Welfare and Ethics Review Board

Details of the types of research considered by each Committee/Review Body please see our webpage.

Amendments - interim process

During the initial phase of launching the new Ethics@Bath system from 3rd April 2023, there will be an interim process for amendments to Staff and Doctoral Student projects which have previously received a favourable opinion from either PREC, SSREC or REACH.

There will be no change to the current process for UG/Masters students until the start of the next academic year (2023/24).

Arrangements for processing amendments to projects under Sponsorship remain unchanged until further notice.

If your project received a favourable opinion from PREC/SSREC/REACH, but you need to make changes to any aspect of your project (e.g., the methods, data collection tools/materials, participant information/consent materials, recruitment strategy, target audience, data management plan etc), please provide a cover page or email which references the section(s) and/or page number(s) of all documents where changes have been made. Changes in documents should be indicated using Track Changes.

Please send all documentation by email to research-ethics@bath.ac.uk.

Your amendments request will be processed by the Research Governance and Compliance team, and/or forwarded to the relevant Research Ethics Committee if appropriate.

Any amendments to your project should be processed as soon as possible to avoid any delays to your project.

A full amendments process will be incorporated into the Ethics@Bath system in due course. More information will follow soon.

Useful information

Guidance for Students and Staff on using the Ethics@Bath system is available here.

For support with technical issues logging into the system, please raise a ticket with IT at it-servicedesk@bath.ac.uk

For support with general research ethics queries, please contact your Departmental Research Ethics Officer (DREO), or contact research-ethics@bath.ac.uk

Doctoral students should also read the guidance provided on the Doctoral College's website.

For further information about each of the University Research Ethics Committees please click here.