4. Lab protocols#
Ethics applications (for University of Bristol)#
The lab has a “standard operating procedure” for ethics related to our general line of work. Most, if not all of you, will work under this blanket ethics approval, but you may still be required to submit a “checklist application” (a Fast Track route). The following steps give a brief overview of this process.
Ethics applications can be made via the Online Research Ethics Management System (OREMS).
Most of the research conducted within our lab will qualify for an expedited research ethics checklist review. This means one should prepare the following information before submitting and expediated ethics applications:
Study design: Outline the design of the study and list the procedures/activities to which the participants will be subjected
Participant recruitment: How will participants be identified and recruited to participate in the research?
Recruitment material: Please provide any recruitment material used to recruit potential participants to take part in your research for review.
Informed consent: Clearly outline how informed consent will be obtained from all participants prior them undertaking the research study?
Participant Information Sheet (PIS): Please provide copies of any Participant Information Sheet (PIS) used to inform participants about the nature of the research for review
Consent Form: Please provide copies of any documentation such as Consent Forms used to obtain consent from participants before taking part in your research.
For an example project including all the above, see here.
Note for students#
Please note that the system allows students to grant supervisors full access to their ethics applications form. When students name a supervisor, the ‘share’ option is beside the supervisors name and they can grant the necessary access rights. Please use this option in every ethics application you make.
For undergraduate and Masters’ students, your ethics applications are reviewed by a Student School of Psychological Science Research Ethics Committee. It is strongly recommended that all undergraduate research projects are undertaken as GROUP projects. That is, several students work on the same protocol so that there is only one ethics application. This also helps to obtain sufficient data for meaningful analysis. If students opt for individual projects and have the support of the supervisor in this decision, there is an expectation that they will have developed a well formulated research plan early (by week 5 of term) to allow sufficient time for the student to complete the study on their own.
We expect that student projects in our lab should be done under the checklist application route.
Standard Operating Procedure#
As mentioned above, the lab has a “standard operating procedure” (SOP) for ethics related to our general line of work. Yoy may view it here.
What does it mean for you? In short, it means that if you want to conduct research using any of the items listed in Appendix 2 of the SOP (or for better browsing, see Christoph Abel’s helpful table and search for UoB Ethics code 12099), you are eligible to do so as a checklist application and avoid a full ethics review.
How do you do that? You need to follow the specific instructions outlined in the SOP. Please read it through before you submit a new ethics application. When using the SOP, you must declare that you are following the TeDCog SOP (approval #12099) and that your research adheres to the SOP in full – or specify where exactly it doesn’t. It will appear on OREMS during the application:
Open science#
Open science encompasses a number of open practices that aim to ensure that research is widely accessible and can be re-used, and act as a quality control process. The table below lists different open practices and how TeDCog aims to support them. Training on Open Science practices is also part of the TeDCog syllabus.
Open science practice |
TeDCog protocol |
|---|---|
We strongly encourage members to pre-register studies, particularly those involving new data collection. There are several templates for pre-registration and you can find a guide here: https://help.osf.io/hc/en-us/articles/360019738834-Create-a-Preregistration |
|
Open data and methodology |
Anonymised data and analysis code accompanying publications from the group should be archived in a secure location (see protocols for data storage and security) and made available for further research. However, before you make data publicly available, check with a more senior member of the team about what to include—there is an obvious trade-off between openness and privacy, and we must safeguard participants’ privacy at all times. So for example, typically demographic data will be stored separately from experimental responses and they will not be made public in all cases. |
Where possible, research articles should be published Open Access. We also support the sharing of manuscripts on preprint servers (e.g., on PsyArXiv), although it is important to verify that posting on a server does not preclude consideration by your favoured journal(s). |
Data storage and data security#
The University of Bristol and TeDCog take data security very seriously. It is the responsibility of all group members to ensure the data they work with is used appropriately, kept safe and secure at all times, and in compliance with GDPR and the University’s policies and guidance.
Anonymisation of research data.#
All research data should be anonymised where possible. Any non-anonymised data or participant information should be collected and stored securely on University of Bristol managed computers and in separate folders from any associated anonymised data. If there is a need to share these data this should be within University-managed systems, e.g. by sharing a password-protected file via University OneDrive accounts. Do not assume data has been anonymised by removing participant names. Combinations of other variables can enable identification of individuals.
Backing up data.#
Computers and electronic devices do and (eventually) will fail. To avoid unnecessary trauma from a loss of data, please make sure your work is regularly backed up to a secure cloud server. This can be done through your University OneDrive account, so make sure you know how to use it. In addition, data relevant to any of TeDCog’s funded projects should be periodically backed up to a secure shared archive (e.g., Research Data Storage Facility) throughout the project, as advised by the project manager or senior researcher on the project.
Data collection.#
All electronic data collection must be done using University of Bristol desktop or laptop computers when storing the data locally. If data is collected online (e.g., via Qualtrics), this should be done through UoB-approved software and the procedure cleared by the University ethics committee. When the online data is exported, it must be saved either to University of Bristol computers or to OneDrive via login to the UoB remote desktop. Raw data should never be saved to personal computers or hard drives.
Any data collected in hard copy (i.e., signed consent forms or paper questionnaires) should be kept secure in University laboratories or offices for the duration of testing. At the end of the study, these data should either be destroyed using the University of Bristol’s confidential waste facility or archived for long time storage, as appropriate.
When leaving the group, individuals should ensure that data files and documents are saved securely and accessible by other group members, and no data files or documents are taken away (unless you have permission from senior staff).
Data management for specific projects.#
In addition to the procedures above, different projects hosted in the TeDCog group may have data management plans (DMPs) they must adhere to. If you are working under a project, be sure to check if there are specific protocols to follow (e.g., for file naming, data sharing etc.)
Help with data management.#
The University of Bristol has a specialist unit to help with all aspects of research data management, including assistance with writing data management plans for research grants. Any breach of data protection must be reported immediately to senior group members and/or project managers.