Students - Undergraduate and Postgraduate (ERF)

The specific procedure ethical approval requires depends on the nature of the participants and data involved. For more information and guidance on this, see the page with further information on ethical approval.

If your research does not involve human participants or use personal, controlled or confidential data, you will not need POLIS ERF Committee approval for your research, but still need to submit the form to confirm that this is the case (Postgraduates students only). The form - Ethical Confirmation form - will be brief in this case.

Students should discuss with their supervisor whether working with adult participants or confidential data is appropriate for their research and how to address the ethical considerations and possible risks involved to the participants and to the student.

Risk Assessments are required for all research (for more than one day at a time) outside Cambridge for more than one day at a time and for some forms of research in Cambridge that involve particular risks to the researcher. Students should discuss this with their supervisor when they are planning to do research that requires a risk assessment.

Guidance related to the risk assessment (submitted through the Peregrine Foresight system) is included in the online application. Do not apply for the Risk Assessment independently from the POLIS ERF online form, these applications will not be reviewed. You will be asked to insert your Peregrine Foresight ID number into your POLIS application, before submission.

As indicated above, this application is required when conducting research away from Cambridge for more than two weeks at a time. This applies to research trips in and outside of term time. 

In practice, this is relevant mostly to PhD students, but occasionally also applies to MPhil students. (Note: MSt students do not need to apply for leave to work away when doing research.)

One of the requirements of this LTWA  application is to complete a risk assessment application.

(Note: If students wish to conduct research outside Cambridge for less than two weeks, they don’t need to apply for LTWA but must still complete a risk assessment!)

PhD students 'writing up' or completing corrections/revisions to thesis do not need to submit any papers to ERF. However, they will need to request to LTWA on their CamSIS account and upload a statement with their LTWA application saying that they are not required to upload a risk assessment as they are writing up or completing corrections.

LTWA applications must first be submitted to the POLIS ERF committee before any formal application is made through CamSIS.

Applications for ethical approval to work with human participants require the submission of the following supporting information: a draft of the participant project information sheet (example available here) and a draft of participant consent form (template available here).

Amendment form

Please use if the nature of your research has changed and you want to make minor amendments, or if the ERF committee have asked you to make amendments to your submitted application. Amendment form here.

Extension form

Please use this form if you are currently on a research trip but you wish to extend your period of working away. Extension form here.