SCHOOL OF JUSTICE
Research Ethics Approval Process
Undergraduate & Postgraduate (Taught) Students
__________________________________________________________________________
All research undertaken in the School requires ethical consideration. Please note
that you must NOT start your research until ethical clearance has been confirmed.
This will be conveyed to you by your supervisor.
For staff research and PhD / DProf / MPhil / Masters by Research degrees, please
refer to and follow the procedure outlined in the ‘UCLan Ethics Pack for Research
Degree Students’, available at
[Link]
[Link].
For undergraduate and postgraduate (taught) students wishing to embark on a
Project or Dissertation, you must complete the Ethics Checklist in Section 1 of this
form with the assistance of your supervisor. Based on the information provided,
your supervisor will decide whether you need to complete Section 2 of the form. The
latter would usually be the case where the research involves field research (e.g.
interviews and surveys) and/or where third parties permit you access to data not
currently available in the public domain. In such circumstances, Sections 1 and 2 of
this form will be submitted to the School Ethics Committee for consideration and
ethics approval. A decision would be conveyed to your supervisor within a
reasonable period of time. You must not begin your research until your supervisor
has confirmed that you may proceed.
For complex ethical issues, the application may be referred to the Faculty Ethics
Committee for advice and decision. This will involve the completion of the
documents listed in the ‘UCLan Ethics Pack for Research Degree Students’ referred
to above.
Why ethics approval is necessary
If the research involves contact with, observation of, or collection and storage of
confidential information about living human subjects, then you may need ethical
approval. The physical, mental and emotional health and safety, not only of
research participants but also researchers, is also a matter of concern. Research
ethics do not simply protect living research subjects but also researchers.
The main purpose of the School’s procedures for gaining ethics approval is to
facilitate the carrying out of your research in a way that protects both you and your
research participants.
Page 1 of 6
SECTION 1
Name of student Shakila tayyeba taujoo Email Shakila.99@[Link]
Name of Ian David Turner Email idturner@[Link]
supervisor
Module (please CJ3991 Dissertation (BA Criminology)
highlight in bold) CJ4017 Dissertation (MA Criminology)
FZ3501 Dissertation (BA Forensic Science and PCI)
FZ3940 Dissertation (BA Policing and Criminal
Investigation)
FZ4003 Project (MSc DNA Profiling)
FZ4707 Dissertation (MSc Forensic and Applied Sciences)
LA3097 Independent Legal Research Project (GDL)
LA4095 Dissertation (LLM)
LA4946 Independent Research Project (LLM)
LA4947 Project (LLM-LPC)
LW3090 Dissertation (LLB)
LW3091 Project (LLB)
PL3990 Dissertation (Public Services Top up)
PS4980 Project (MSc Forensic Psychology)
SO3991 Dissertation (BA Sociology)
Other (please state)
The death penalty in the USA: a cruel and unusual punishment ?
Title of
proposed
research
Brief summary Although being accepted in the past, in recent years, the
of research death penalty has been heavily criticized as being a cruel
aims punishment.
(max 100 words) This dissertation aims at understanding the different factors in
play and the root of these criticism.
Method (i.e. Upon talking with my supervisor, we have narrowed down the
explain how the topic of the dissertation. Additionally, the information use in
research will be the dissertation was based on books, thesis, research and
conducted) reliable website.
(max 150 words)
Page 2 of 6
Page 3 of 6
CHECKLIST
Please answer the following questions:
1 Does the research involve direct contact with living persons (e.g. via NO
face-to face interviews, Skype/Teams, telephone etc)?
2 Does the research involve working with data relating to living NO
persons that is not currently available in the public domain?
3 Does the study involve participants who are unable to give consent NO
themselves (e.g. children, unconscious patients, or people with
severe learning disabilities or mental health difficulties)?
4 Does the project raise issues involving the potential abuse or misuse NO
of power and authority which might compromise the validity of
participants’ consent (e.g. relationships of line management or
training).
5 Is there any potential risk arising from the project of physical, social, NO
emotional or psychological harm or distress to the researchers,
participants or audience?
6 Does the project involve a potential risk of causing shock, offence or NO
outrage to researchers, participants, the audience or public?
7 Does the project involve researchers and/or participants in the NO
potential disclosure of any information relating to illegal activities;
the observation of illegal activities; or the possession, viewing or
storage of any material (whether in hard copy or electronic format)
which may be illegal?
8 Will the deception of participants be necessary during the study? NO
9 Will the study involve invasion of privacy or access to confidential NO
information about people without their permission?
10 Will the study involve any external organisation for which separate NO
and specific ethics clearance is required (such as the NHS; any
criminal justice agencies including the Police, Crown Prosecution
Service, Prison Service, Probation Service or successor
organisations)?
If you have answered ‘No’ to all of the above questions, your Supervisor can
authorise you to begin your research. He/she will then upload a copy of this form
onto the university shared drive for audit purposes.
Page 4 of 6
If you have answered ‘YES’ to any of the above questions, you will need to
complete Section 2 of this form.
SECTION 2
If you have answered ‘Yes’ to any of the questions in Section 1, you will need to
identify, discuss and explain how you plan to address those ethical issues.
It may be necessary therefore to explain and justify, for example, the choice of
research participants, if issues of consent or power relationships are raised. You
may also, where relevant, discuss how you will address issues like informed
consent, debriefing, resources for participants or safeguarding. Your supervisor can
offer guidance if necessary.
Please identify below, by reference to the question(s) to which you have
answered ‘Yes’ in Section 1, and explain how you will manage the ethical issues
these raise (continue in a separate sheet if necessary)
Page 5 of 6
Upon completion of Section 2, this form needs to be sent to the School Ethics
Committee by your supervisor, alongside a completed copy of UCLan’s Data
Protection Checklist.
One of the following decisions will be made by the Committee. This will be conveyed
to you by your Supervisor in due course:
A. The research has gained ethical approval and can proceed
B. The research will be granted ethical approval upon satisfaction of specified
conditions
C. The research has not been granted ethical approval and the methodology
would need to be amended
D. The application would be sent to the Faculty Ethics Committee for further
consideration
Page 6 of 6
