The Research Ethics and Governance Office have recently published two new policies to support staff and students at the University. These new polices will impact all those individuals who undertake research.
Updated Ethics Policy
The has recently been updated and consolidates existing ethics policies and guidance into a new policy document (approved at Senate on 16 October 2024). The policy provides a framework of principles and standards to be followed when conducting research. The policy also outlines our research ethics review/approvals process and provides information on new areas of ethical consideration, such as collaborative research and public involvement/engagement. This policy covers research across all disciplines and applies to all researchers (students, staff, or visitors).
All researchers should ensure they read the new policy ().
New Electronic Communication for the purpose of recruitment of research participants policy
In recent years, there has been widespread misunderstanding and confusion as to when it is appropriate to send direct, unsolicited emails to other members of staff and students for the purpose of research. This new policy aims to provide clarity on best practise approaches for recruiting participants to avoid the use of emails. This new policy was approved by Research and Enterprise Executive Group on 7 November 2024 and can be found here: .
For more information regarding these new policies, please contact the Research Ethics and Governance Office (rgoinfo@soton.ac.uk) or visit our SharePoint page: