APPLICATION FOR ETHICAL APPROVAL FOR

RESEARCH PROJECTS

Introduction

All research projects that focus on Samaritans service, volunteers, callers and/or areas of interest to Samaritans requires an ethics form to be completed. This process applies to Samaritan staff and volunteers carrying out research, and to external researchers, practitioners and students wanting to carry out research within external organisations. This is to ensure that all research projects adhere to Samaritans Research Ethics Policy, and that all researchers and participants are ethically protected and that any risks have been fully considered.

Please type your answers directly into the grey boxes below the questions.If a question does not apply to your research, please type ‘not applicable’ but do not leave any boxes blank. There is always just one line space after each question but this will expand if you type more.

RESEARCH STUDENT:
SUPERVISOR:
RESEARCH PROJECT TITLE:
START AND END DATE OF RESEARCH PROJECT:
COURSE:
UNIVERSITY/ORGANISATION:

Background

  1. Please provide a clear breakdown of the overall aims and objectives of the research.
  1. Were service users involved in anyway in the development of the project? If yes, which service(s) are the service users from and how were they involved?
  1. How will the research be funded? Will the funder have any impact on the research?

Research Sample / Participants

  1. Do you intend to recruit any of the following as part of your research sample? (tick as many as applicable)

a)Samaritans staff or volunteers
b)Samaritans’ service users (i.e. callers)
c)Adults (aged 18 years and over and competent to give consent)
d)Children/legal minors (anyone age 17 years and under)
e)Anyone who is in custody, custodial care, or for whom a court order has assumed responsibility
f)Any other person whose ability to consent may be compromised
g)A member of an organisation where another individual may also need to give consent (i.e. professional responsible for a support group)
  1. Please provide any additional information that outlines your sample, e.g. the age range and size of the sample, or any exclusion or inclusion criteria (e.g. English as their first language).
  1. Will your sample include participants under the age of 17? If yes, how will you gain consent from both participant and a parent/guardian/someone in loco parentis?
  1. Will you involve participants who are in any way vulnerable or may have difficulty giving informed consent? If yes, please describe how they may be vulnerable and how you will manage this.
  1. How will you recruit your participants? (e.g. obtaining and using contact details, approaching the sample population, advertising etc)
  1. Will the research require the cooperation of a gatekeeper to enable access for participants to be recruited? If yes please explain who these will be,how they will help, how you will support them, and any issues that may arise.
  1. Do you plan to pay or reward participants? (If yes, please specifythe amount that will be given and provide a rationale for this).

Methods and Data Collection

  1. In what location/setting(s) will you be conducting theresearch (e.g. schools, prisons, participants home)? Are there any methodological or ethical issues that need to be considered with regards to setting?
  1. If the research involves primary data collection, what data collection methods will be used? Will participants take part without their knowledge or consent (e.g. covert observations, deception of participants)?
  1. How long will participantsbe engaged in the research, and for how many sessions? If there is ongoing involvement for participants, how will this be managed?Will participants need to be contacted after the research has ended, i.e. follow up?
  1. How will the data you collect be analysed?
  1. In what form(s) will data collected from participants be held (e.g. transcripts, tape recordings, video recordings, online and paper questionnaires)?
  1. What, if any, debriefing, support and feedback will participants receive following their involvement in the study?

Ethical issues

  1. Has information about the study been prepared in an appropriate and accessible way for potential participants? Please state what has been prepared and how and when this will be given to participants.Please attach all information prepared and consent form.
  1. What process do you have in place to manage any problems or complaints that are made by participants?
  1. How will you ensure that data remains confidential and is stored securely, particularly if data are not anonymous? (e.g. using pseudonyms, how data is collected, limited access to data, how long data is held for etc)

Managing Risk

  1. Will participants be exposed to any kind of psychological or emotional risk(e.g. will you ask for sensitive information)? If yes, what support processes will you have in place to manage this?
  1. What process do you have in place to manage any disclosures of significant risk or harm to themselves or another person that are made by participants?
  1. Is there any risk of harm to any of the participants or the researcher(s) during the dissemination process of the research findings? If yes, how will this harm be minimised?
  1. Are there any risks to youor other researchers during this research process? (e.g. safety issues, working alone, working with vulnerable people etc). If yes, please explain what process you will have in place.
  1. Please indicate in the space below any ethical issues associated with the research thathave not already been covered by your previous answers. Please give details of how you will manage these.

Contact Details

If you have any questions about completing this form, please contact Stephanie Stace, Senior Research and Evaluation Manager on 020 8349 8376 or

Please send your application for ethics approval form with your research proposal form to Stephanie Stace on

For internal use only

DATE RESEARCH APPROVED:

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