The UCL Institute of Education (IOE) maintains its own Research Ethics Committee. At the Institute, all research projects by staff, students or visitors which collect or use data from human participants including secondary data analysis, systematic reviews and pilot studies, are required to gain ethical approval before data collection begins regardless of whether your research is funded or unfunded.

The IOE adheres to the UCL Code of Conduct for Research and Statement on Research Integrity, which you can find on the UCL Research Integrity pages.

• IOE Research Ethics Guidelines
• Your ethics application - things you need to know

Applying for ethics review approval at the IOE

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

GDPR guidance will be applicable to all new ethics applications. The GDPR brings in key changes related to consent from May 2018:

• GDPR guidance
• UK data service 
• UCL legal services

For further details, including guidance for research with children on data protection issues, and exemplars of consent forms and information sheets with privacy notice links, please visit your relevant section (staff or students).

For questions about GDPR, contact the UCL Data Protection team: data-protection@ucl.ac.uk

IOE Research Ethics Committee Membership

• Chair of the IOE Research Ethics Committee / IOE Head of Research Ethics and Governance - Professor Phil Jones
• Culture, Communication and Media – Dr Jennifer Rode
• Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment – Dr Becky Hale
• Department of Learning and Leadership – Dr Rob Higham
• Social Research Institute – Dr Rachel Rosen
• Psychology and Human Development – Dr Laura Crane
• Education, Practice and Society – Dr Sara Bragg, Dr Tejendra Pherali
• Centre for Doctoral Education – Dr Tom Woodin
• Lay member - Shani Shamah
• Student member - Christie Haddad 

Useful links

Research with vulnerable participants

• The experience of taking part in a national survey: A child's perspective (PDF)
• Research With Children And Young People
• The Ethics of Research with Children and Young People: A Practical Handbook
• Prisoners Education Trust: Policy on protection of vulnerable adults (POVA) and children (PDF)

Good practice guides

• Social Research Association good practice guides including Code of Practice for the Safety of Social Researchers
• Fieldwork during the pandemic (by Deborah Lupton, University of New South Wales, Australia)
• Running a Web Survey (PDF)
• Conducting Research Online (PDF)
• Recording & Obtaining Consent (PDF)
• Preparing Information Sheets
• BPS's Ethics Guidelines for Internet-Mediated Research
• AoIR's guidance on ethical issues in internet research

Ethical frameworks

• Data Science Ethical Framework (PDF)
• ESRC's Ethics Case Studies
• BPS Code of Ethics and Conduct 2018
• BERA Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research 2018 (PDF)
• BSA Statement of Ethical Practice 2017 (PDF)
• UCL Library records retention schedule (PDF)