General University Ethics Panel

The General University Ethics Panel (GUEP) considers most research proposals which do not involve animals, require approval by the NHS Research Ethics Committee or involve physically invasive procedures or intrusive interventions on human participants.

The panel helps to ensure that all research carried out by University of Stirling staff and students is subject to the same high ethical standards we apply to animal or clinical research. Research areas considered by the GUEP might include – but are not limited to – environmental, social or digital research.

GUEP Process for Undergraduates and Postgraduate Taught Students

Undergraduate and postgraduate taught student ethics applications are assessed at Faculty level and approved on a risk based approach. The risk based approach considers potential harms to the primary research participant, the researcher, environment and other stakeholders, and will assess applications against the University’s hierarchy of risk.

Students who carry out low risk research must complete the low risk ethics approval approval process via ERM. This must then be signed off by both their dissertation supervisor and either the second supervisor or the module coordinator. Any application that exceeds minimal risk must further be approved by the Delegated Authority within the Faculty. 

Students are responsible for ensuring that ethical approval has been granted before any data collection or fieldwork commences. Deliberate avoidance or refusal to engage with the ethical review process will be considered to be an act of academic misconduct by the student and handled in accordance with the Academic Misconduct Policy. 

Ethics review process for undergraduate and postgraduate taught students.