Check whether your study is research

Start 11 months before funding application deadline and complete by 9 months before funding application deadline

It is important that your proposed work if it involves human subjects falls within the strict definition of "research". Some research - for instance involving pre-clinical work on established cell lines and animal model systems - does not require HRA/REC approval, but may be subject to the regulations put in place by the Home Office. Research that involves existing data collected with consent - for instance systematic reviews and meta-analyses - does not require HRA/REC approval.

Advice

The HRA provides tools to determine whether your study is research.

Resources

Defining Research External link

http://www.hra-decisiontools.org.uk/research/docs/DefiningResearchTable_Oct2017-1.pdf

This table defines what constitutes research. A PDF from the HRA, October 2017.

Determine whether your work is research External link

http://www.hra-decisiontools.org.uk/research/

A tool from HRA.

Determining whether you need ethic approval for your research External link

http://www.hra-decisiontools.org.uk/ethics/

Not all research requires ethical approval. This is a decision tool to help you determine whether or not ethical approval is required.

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