Ethics and Integrity

The University of Leicester seeks to uphold the highest professional standards in the conduct of its research, at every level and in every discipline. Ethical approval is needed for all research and consultancy undertaken by University staff and students (both undergraduate and postgraduate) wherever research (or any related activity) involves human participants or raises ethical issues.

Policy

The University's Research Ethics Policy (PDF, 700kb) provides the framework within which the ethical review process will operate across the University.

The University's Research Ethics Policy should be read in conjunction with the University Research Code of Conduct (PDF, 972kb), which provides guidelines for conducting research with integrity and promoting good practice in all aspects of research.

The University has issued a Statement on Dealing with Allegations of Research Misconduct (PDF, 85kb) Under United States Public Health Service (USPHS) Research-related Activities for Foreign Institutions.

The University's Policy on Researching and Handling Sensitive, Extreme and Radical Material (PDF, 744kb) details expectations of staff and students when utilising sensitive, extreme or radical material in their legitimate work or study.

Committees

The University Ethics and Integrity Committee (UEIC) is responsible for setting policy and providing oversight of ethical reviews across the university for research not involving the NHS (see below for more details). There are a number of discipline specific Research Ethics Committees (RECs), these committees are responsible for providing review and approval of ethics applications. The RECs may escalate an application for consideration by the UEIC if required. Researchers at the University of Leicester may apply for ethical review by one of these committees utilising an online application system.

Research Integrity Working Group

The Research Integrity Working Group (RIWG) was set up in March 2014 in order to consider the University’s response to the Concordat to Support Research Integrity, and continues to meet six times a year to review new research integrity guidance and implement changes to policy and procedures as required. The working group is chaired by Dr Michelle O’Reilly and reports to the UEIC.

Research involving animals

Research projects which involve the use of animals at the University are subject to stringent ethical review by the Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body. This is a distinct process from the University's ethical review system for research involving human participants.

The University of Leicester is a signatory to the Concordat on Openness on Animal Research, published in May 2014, which establishes principles of openness, practical steps and measurable objectives, underpinning a more transparent approach to animal research.

Policy on the Responsible use of Bibliometrics

The University is a signatory to the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), and we take our commitment to, and implementation of, principles for the responsible use of research metrics seriously. Our Policy on Responsible use of Metrics (PDF, 152kb) is based upon transparency, consistency, accountability and inclusivity, and follows the lead of principles outlined in DORA, The Leiden Manifesto, The Metric Tide Report and the UK Forum for Responsible Research Metrics.

How to contact us if you have concerns about how we're conducting our research

If you are part of a research project and you have any questions or concerns about that research project, please contact the lead researcher in the first instance. If the issue you would like to discuss relates to potential misconduct in research, please contact:

Professor Philip Baker

Pro Vice Chancellor Research and Enterprise
philip.baker@leicester.ac.uk