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This page directs you to the resources you’ll need to navigate research ethics and integrity as a doctoral student
Do I Need Ethics Approval?
Read UCL’s comprehensive guidelines on whether you will need to apply for ethical approval.
If approval is required, you must always apply before starting a study – you cannot do this retrospectively.
Who Do I Apply To For Ethics Approval?
For studies with human participants, you need to apply to the UCL Research Ethics Committee (REC) for approval. There are some exceptions described on their web page including for low risk research, and where ethics approval for a collaborative study has already been granted by another institution.
For animal studies, you need to apply to the Animal Welfare Ethics Review Board.
For clinical studies with the NHS, you need to apply to the NHS Health Research Authority.
There are also specific boards for social care research funded by the Department of Health, and research with human participants funded by the Ministry of Defence.
See the Which Committee Do I Apply To web page for more information including links to the relevant Committees. Your supervisory team should be able to assist you in understanding and preparing your ethics applications.
We also recommend reviewing the materials available on the UCL Research Ethics Service web page. These resources cover all aspects of what you need to know, including links to FAQs, training and contact information for the Ethics team.
How To Get Research Integrity Training
All doctoral students must complete research integrity training. You can find more information on the Research Integrity Training web page. Some Departments may also offer local training such as the Dilemma Game.
UCL has a number of policies and guidelines related to Research Integrity - for a full overview look at UCL’s Research Integrity web page.
Including Published Work In Your Thesis
It’s possible to use your own previously published work in your final thesis under certain circumstances. You will need to clearly reference the source and ensure you have permission of the copyright holder (you may have transferred copyright to the journal).
Note you cannot include work that has already been submitted for the award of a degree at UCL or any other university – for example your Masters thesis – without explicit declaration. This does not apply to your Upgrade as the Upgrade is not a formal assessment.
For more information see our comprehensive guidance here.
Need Help?
If you have any difficulty understanding which team you need to speak to about research integrity and ethics, you can contact the Doctoral School for support at docschool@ucl.ac.uk.