Research governance (ethics)

What research is

As part of your work, you may need to collect information from service users or members of the public. This could be to get their ideas or feedback on service provision, improvement or development, or to learn about their more general experiences related to a specific topic.  

You may want to do this by: 

• speaking to them individually in an interview 
• doing a focus group or workshop
• speaking to them virtually or face to face 
• learning about people’s lived experience
• co-producing a project 
• surveying a large audience 
• conducting a consultation 

All these activities are a form of research. This includes any research-like activities, such as consultation, engagement, audit and review, which involve new (primary) data collection where you may be seeking the views of the general public or service users. 

The importance of research governance (ethics)

Research governance, also known as research ethics, is relevant to any piece of work that could be considered research. It is a process for ensuring the quality of research, and for protecting the rights, dignity, safety, and wellbeing of those involved. 

There are always ethical considerations that need to be taken into account when collecting data and information. These need to be managed to minimise the risk to yourself, your participants, and the organisation. Making sure that any research carried out with citizens is ethically sound also helps to protect the reputation of the council.  

Some of the questions you will need to ask yourself about your research include:

• do our participants really understand why we are doing this research? 
• is their participation truly voluntary? 
• how will we protect the participants’ emotional wellbeing?  
• what do we do if we are concerned about a person’s safety?  
• will I be taking photos of participants? Have they agreed to this?  

Ultimate responsibility for the research rests with the sponsor, not with the Research and Citizen Insight (RC&I) team. 

How to make sure your research is ethical 

The research governance process at the council sets the standard for all research carried out by or for the council, and the research planning template (DOC,73KB) will assist you in making sure you have given due consideration to all ethical issues relevant to your research, and that they are managed adequately.  
 
This process needs to be completed before any data collection begins.  
 
Research proposals are reviewed by the RC&I team.  

We can provide advice and guidance at any stage of the process and generally assist you to carry out your research effectively and ethically. Using the expertise within our team, we wish to support you in your work. The process is not there to create barriers. The earlier you involve us in the design of your research project, the more effective our contribution can be. You can contact us at research@essex.gov.uk. 

1. Process for internal research 

Internal research is carried out by your team or with the support of the R&CI Team.

Checklist (for all research) 

Once you have an idea of what your research will entail, complete the Checklist: ethical considerations of your research (DOC,121KB) study to establish whether your project is low-risk.  

For low-risk research, sign the checklist, attach your research materials and send to research@essex.gov.uk. Your checklist will be filed for future reference.  

You may proceed with your work.

Research planning template (for medium-high/risk research) 

If your research is not low-risk, ethics will need to be considered in greater detail, using the Research planning template document (DOC,73KB). Once complete, send it to research@essex.gov.uk.  

We can provide guidance and advice at any point, so please get in touch if you need assistance while completing the document.  

This document has been designed to help you plan your research and covers the key points needed for a research study to progress successfully. You may find the document useful even if research governance approval is not required. Feel free to use existing documents to complete it, excessive detail is not needed.  

Review of your research study 

Once your document is submitted, a member of the RC&I team will contact you within 5 working days to inform you of the progress of your application.        

We will keep in touch with you to seek any clarifications if needed. The time needed for this will depend on the complexity of individual projects. Allow for 2 to 3 weeks for this stage in your project plan.  

Primary data collection should not begin before research governance review is finalised. 

2. Process for external research 

This is research being carried out on behalf of the council by an external third-party provider 

If commissioning research externally, you will be responsible for ensuring that any providers invited to bid for contracts abide by the Market Research Society Code of Conduct, applicable guidelines or appropriate comparable Code of Practice, such as the Social Research Association Research Ethics Guidance.

When evaluating proposals from providers, we recommend including a question on ethical standards within the evaluation criteria.  

You should follow the guidance on buying research or engagement services. 

3. Process for students carrying out research as part of their degrees, who seek assistance from the council 

Undergraduate and postgraduate students carrying out research as part of their academic studies will be expected to obtain ethical approval from their respective universities. 

Students do not need to complete the council’s research planning template. We will generally accept the decision of an alternative research ethics board or committee without further review but in some cases we may seek some clarifications.  

We still want to be aware of research taking place, so please send your research application and a copy of the approval letter to research@essex.gov.uk, and to the council manager who supports your work. 

Research resources 

For more information, see our starter guide to ethical research, data protection and safeguarding (Microsoft Sway).  

The Market Research Society's Code of Conduct lists 10 ethical principles for researchers when undertaking research or engagement.  
 
The national UK Policy Framework for Health and Social Care sets out the principles of good practice in the management and conduct of health and social care research in the UK.   

You can also read the Social Research Association Research Ethics Guidance (2021) and the UKRI / Economic and Social Research Council Research Ethics Guidance for more information.