An update regarding the COVID-19 pandemic relating to research field-work travel and face-to-face or participant research interactions.
Last updated – 1 June 2022
Since September 2021, we have had agreement from the University’s Being Safe Feeling Safe (BSFS) Group that researchers may be able to undertake travel (within the UK or overseas) for purposes of research fieldwork with or without human participants and with the appropriate Research and Knowledge Exchange Ethics Committee (REC) review
There is now some further easing of restrictions (from 1 June 2022) with regard to otherwise low risk research fieldwork (Class 1). This will no longer require review by a REC where the sole purpose is to account for potential harms as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic.
However, researchers must continue to follow COVID-19 related guidance both in the UK and overseas in order to reduce potential harms caused by the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.
Where new risks of harm relating to Coronavirus are identified by the researcher or others supporting the research, it is recommended that the research can continue to be conducted remotely if this does not compromise the validity and integrity of the research. Please see our remote research guidance.
The situation is under continuous review, and researchers should regularly refer to the University’s Coronavirus Response Page.
| Activity | Process | Ethics self-Assessment or REC review required |
|---|---|---|
| Research Travel (non-research fieldwork, for example business meetings, conferences etc) with no or minimal ethical implications. | This requires Head of School approval for travel, where overseas travel is concerned. For UK travel line manager approval is required. For both overseas and UK a completed travel risk assessment is required. This needs to be authorised by your line manager (or Director of Studies or Supervisor in case of doctoral researchers or taught course students respectively). Insurance cover for overseas travel should be sought through the University Procurement Team. | Does not require ethics self-assessment or REC review if the activity is not related directly to carrying out research and knowledge exchange (KE) activity itself, ie, data collection, observation etc. If the activity is research or KE, then an ethics self-assessment via the VRE should be completed, as is good practice for all research and KE, including potentially low risk work. |
| Research Fieldwork Travel (with or without the inclusion of face-to-face participant interactions) with no or minimal ethical implications (Class 1 research). | This requires Head of School approval for travel, where overseas travel is concerned. For UK travel line manager approval is required. For both overseas and UK a completed travel risk assessment is required. This needs to be authorised by your line manager (or Director of Studies or Supervisor in case of doctoral researchers or taught course students respectively). Insurance cover for overseas travel should be sought through the University Procurement Team. | Ethics self-assessment required Does not require REC review, unless there are external requirements such as for example, professional body, funder or publisher requirements, or local requirements. |
| Research Fieldwork Travel (with or without the inclusion of face-to-face participant interactions) with the potential for risk of harms (Class 2 and above research). | This requires Head of School approval for travel, where overseas travel is concerned. For UK travel line manager approval is required. For both overseas and UK a completed travel risk assessment is required. This needs to be authorised by your line manager (or Director of Studies or Supervisor in case of doctoral researchers or taught course students respectively). Insurance cover for overseas travel should be sought through the University Procurement Team. | REC review required via a New Application in most cases. |
Risk Assessments
Researchers are responsible for completing their risk assessments (including for travel), and their line manager (or Head of School if appropriate) is responsible for approving this. For doctoral researchers, the Supervisory team should assist the student in completing the risk assessment and the Director of Studies would be responsible for approving it, as the Chief Investigator. For taught students, the Supervisor needs to approve the completed risk assessment, and is responsible as the Principal Investigator.
Risk Assessments as dynamic tools for ensuring safety concerns are identified, considered, anticipated, mitigated and controlled on an ongoing basis.
It is important to remember that the Coronavirus situation remains uncertain across the globe, and care needs to be taken even where a country is identified as at low risk of Coronavirus prevalence or disease. Importantly the risk assessment must remain dynamic, and responsibility for updating the mitigations and controls within the risk assessment remains with the researcher. The University’s Code of Practice Governing the Ethical Conduct of Research states the following:
"In some fast-changing research environments, dynamic risk assessment and risk control solutions may be required. Dynamic risk assessment is a continuous process of identifying hazards and evaluating risks as they come up, taking appropriate actions to eliminate or reduce the risk. The researcher continually monitors and reviews the changing circumstances in the research environment. The actions taken should be documented to improve overall knowledge of risk and risk controls in similar projects." (CoP 2020/21).
Any risk assessment will need to specify how risks related to COVID-19 will be managed. It is important also to consider these risks in terms of the following:
- type of participant (for example child, adult, those considered vulnerable to COVID-19, elderly)
- location of research (for example country, University-owned space, lab)
- type of contact required with participants (for example social distancing possible, close contact required, inadequate ventilation)
- number of people involved in the interaction at any given time
- how the researcher will react if there is a need for healthcare, related or not related to COVID-19 if the country’s healthcare system unexpectedly becomes burdened
- measures in place to ensure that the costs of additional insurance cover would be met
- considerations around the researchers’ mental and physical needs if there were to be a need to quarantine either in the UK or overseas
- consideration of costs associated with quarantine accommodation
- familiarity of the researcher with the country they wish to travel to and conduct research field-work in: support mechanisms available to them, such as family or friends
The University and researchers should recognise that a certain level of risk will be inevitable, especially with regard to a situation such as a global pandemic; however, the level of risk agreed upon should be a tolerable level of risk. This includes reputational risks to the University as an employer of researchers and facilitator and sponsor of research, as well as the impact any adverse institutional reputational risk has on the individual researcher. Where the research is funded by an external organisation the researcher needs to evidence that the funding body is aware of the potential risks and is accepting of these. Evidence of funders’ approval to conduct research fieldwork should be provided to the University or College Research & Knowledge Exchange Ethics Committee (RECs) where appropriate, or appended to your ethics self-assessment within the VRE.
Participants
Clear information to participants is a standard requirement; it is important that potential risks and what is being done to reduce these perceived risks are made completely clear to participants. There should also be absolutely no pressure on participants to take part if they do not feel comfortable doing so. In addition, consideration should be given to the following:
- The participant should be able to easily stop the activity and withdraw at any point if they wish to do so. They should be clearly informed of this. There should also be reminders of this during the activity itself
- In all cases, researchers should also be mindful of other potential consequences of the current global pandemic situation, for example, emotional stress, and should recognise and mitigate the risks of compounding these. Appropriate measures may include signposting information and support systems
For further information on research with human participants please refer to the:
- Wellcome Centre for Ethics and Humanities (2020) guidance on ethics of research in response to humanitarian emergencies
- Nuffield Council on Bioethics (2020) Research in Global Health Emergencies: Ethical Issues
- Physiological Society (2020) guidance Resuming laboratory testing with human participants
- University Code of Practice Governing the Ethical Conduct of Research (2020/21)
Contact
For enquiries please contact UREC via [email protected]
For specific advice on Safety, Health and Well-being please contact [email protected]
For specific advice on University insurance cover please contact [email protected]
For advice regarding a specific piece of research, please contact your College Research & Knowledge Exchange Ethics Committee Chair.
| Version Number | Date | Changes made since previous version |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | 14 September 2020 | |
| 2.0 | 4 November 2020 | Research Travel with no ethical implications and no participants: Additional requirement for College Research Director to confirm that proposed doctoral researcher travel for purposes of research, is deemed ‘essential’ in order for the travel risk assessment to be confirmed as valid by the University (for purposes of review of risk and travel insurance cover). Research with ethical implications, or human participants: Clarity that the completed travel risk assessment will also be needed for research with ethical implications OR involving participants if travel is proposed. Therefore, for doctoral students, this will require the additional confirmation of the College Research Director that the research travel is deemed ‘essential’. |
| 3.0 | 3 February 2021 | Inclusion of notice to suspend research travel proposals in light of the UK Government’s enhancement of travel restrictions in response to COVID-19
|
| 4.0 | 9 September 2021 | Update to guidance in light of easing of some restrictions, to allow some research field-work travel. The process remains largely the same as that published in November 2020, prior to the pause for research travel in February 2021. Updates include:
|
| 5.0 | 1 June 2022 | Update to guidance in light of easing of some restrictions:
|