The University Research Ethics Committee (UREC)

Constitution of the committee.

The University Research Ethics Committee (UREC) is based on the existing School of Psychology Research Ethics Committee, and comprises six members of staff from that School, three additional representatives from other schools, and one lay member. The Committee reports annually to and is appointed by the University of Dundee Research Governance and Policy Sub Committee and the University of Dundee Research Committee. The Committee operates a joint auditing process with the University of Abertay.

Remit of the committee.

The remit is to make recommendations and to provide feedback on the ethical appropriateness of research projects. Some aspects of design may be relevant to ethical considerations (e.g. research should not be so poorly designed as to guarantee meaningless results, thereby wasting participants’ time).

Please note that if a proposed project will involve any of the following clinically-related activities, then you should refer to the website of the Tayside Medical Sciences Centre (TASC) to identify the correct policy to govern the project.

the investigation of the safety or efficacy of a medicine, therapeutic device, foodstuff or placebo in humans
patients, their carers, or staff of the NHS or a social care organisation
access to anonymised collections of patient data
use of any NHS resources including staff time, clinical support services or NHS facilities
the collection or use of donor identifiable human biological samples
human biological samples obtained from a tissue bank

Ethical approval may not in itself be a sufficient precondition for carrying out the research. The research might need clearance from Disclosure Scotland, approval from relevant bodies such as local education authorities, parents or guardians, teachers etc. You should contact the Chair of the UREC, Dr Astrid Schloerscheidt, for advice, but please note that such conditions are outside the remit of the committee. You must also ensure that you carry out any necessary risk assessment, and you must abide by all appropriate safety regulations from the University Safety Services.

You are also responsible for ensuring that your research complies with the Data Protection regulations.

If your data are stored in any way such that the data can be linked to an identifiable individual (e.g. by name or by code) then the data must be registered by filling out the data protection form and returning it to the University Data Protection Officer.