Research Governance standards

The dignity, rights, safety and well-being of participants must be the primary consideration at all times.

Ethics

• All research involving patients, service users, care professionals or volunteers, or data relating to them, should be reviewed independently to ensure it meets ethical standards.
• All studies must have appropriate arrangements for obtaining informed and written consent.
• All those carrying out studies must be aware of the legal and ethical duties regarding the protection of data, as laid out in the Data Protection Act 1998 and Caldicott legislation.
• All those carrying out studies must ensure that secure systems are in place for the storage of personal information.
• Participants, wherever possible, should be involved in the design, conduct, analysis and report of the research.
• Ensure that the body of research evidence available to policy makers reflects the diversity of the population. All those carrying out studies should show respect for the diversity of human culture and conditions, and take full account of ethnicity, gender, disability, age and sexual orientation in the design, undertaking and reporting.

Science

• A systematic review of previous work in the area must be undertaken, to ensure that the proposed study will contribute something of use to existing knowledge.
• All proposals for health and social care research must be subjected to review by experts in the relevant fields. They can then offer independent advice on its quality.
• Data collected in the course of the study must be retained for an appropriate period. This is to allow further analysis by the original, or other, research teams.

Information

Once the research has been subjected to appropriate scientific review, there should be free access to information on:

• the research being conducted.
• the findings of the research.

The information must be presented in a format understandable to the public.

The text must be comprehensible.

Language and other needs must be taken into account.

All those carrying out health and social care research must open their work to critical review, through the accepted scientific and professional channels.

All findings must be made available to those participating in the research

All findings must be made available to those who could benefit from them, through publication and/or other appropriate means.

Health and safety

The safety of participants, and of research and other staff, must be given priority.

At all times, health and safety regulations must be strictly observed.

Finance and intellectual property

• Organisations employing researchers must be in a position to compensate anyone harmed as a result of their negligence.
• All researchers must check with their employing authority that these arrangements are in place.
• Careful consideration must be given to the appropriate exploitation of intellectual property.

This page was last updated on 29 March 2011