This page provides instructions for using the online ethics review submission system and links to access the ethics review form.
Before completing an ethics review form you may find the following resources helpful:
- Ethics review in a nutshell: provides an overview of the ethics review process.
- A pdf of what questions you will be asked in the form.
- Ethics review considerations: A quick guide for researchers (students or staff)
- Detailed user instructions for using the online submission system are below.
For general research ethics guidance, links to training materials, etc., please see the main research ethics webpage
Ethics review forms cannot be edited once they have been approved. If you need to make amendments to a project that has already received ethics approval please follow these steps:
- Complete an Amendments form.
- Email this to the Research Ethics team (students should copy in their project supervisor).
- The research ethics team will advise whether any further review of the proposed amendment is required (either by the supervisor/Department or the Research Ethics Review Board as appropriate) prior to approval.
- Once approval is confirmed, the research ethics team will upload a copy of the Amendments form to the researcher’s original ethics application submission online.
For very minor amendments please email the Research Ethics team in the first instance to check if an amendments form is required.
Taught students should avoid wherever possible having to make any amendments to their projects over the summer vacation period that will require ethics approval, as their project supervisor may not be available to review these changes where required.
More information about amendments post-approval can be found in paragraphs 29-31 of the Research Ethics Policy.
Engagement and impact activities may be envisioned when researchers are designing their initial research. Where this is the case, any ethics considerations arising from these activities should be considered as part of the usual ethics review process.
In other cases, such activities may only be considered/designed after the original data collection has taken place. Where this is the case – and the activity will involve participants or their personal data or user-generated data (e.g. from social media), or where there may be negative or ambiguous impacts for some individuals/groups - researchers should complete the short ethics review questionnaire for impact and engagement activities here. This should be submitted via email to research.ethics@lse.ac.uk for review by the Research Ethics Review Board. Researchers should allow time for responding to any questions from the Review Board and must await approval before commencing activities under review.
The LSE does not have an Animal Welfare Ethics Review Board, and cannot review any research involving animals which would require a licence under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act. However, low risk studies involving animals – for instance studies involving observations or low-risk interventions only – may be conducted. In these instances, researchers should complete the Ethics review form for studies involving animals and send it to research.ethics@lse.ac.uk.
Staff or students conducting research involving animals should give due regard to best practice and any relevant guidelines (refer to Annex A of the Research Ethics Policy for initial suggested resources).
Staff can find the name of their Departmental faculty ethics approver here.
To access the online review system, please use the link in the relevant box on the right.
If you have technical issues with the review form please try refreshing the page or try an alternative browser. If you still have issues please contact the systems team.
Support:
If you have any technical issues please contact the support team
If you have any ethics-related questions please contact the research ethics team
If you require copies of instructions or any related guidance in an alternative format, or other reasonable adjustments, please let us know by contacting us.