SSH IDREC and DREC application process

An electronic ethics application system, Worktribe Ethics, is being introduced across the University during July - December 2024. Refer to the Worktribe Ethics webpage to check when your department is going to start using Worktribe for the submission of ethics applications. If your department is not yet using Worktribe please submit a Microsoft Word application form instead.

If you are not sure which Microsoft Word form to use, please refer to the filter questions in section A of the CUREC 1A application form.

If you can fully apply no more than one approved procedure (for example if you are working with children or schools), you can apply for ethics review using the CUREC 1A form instead of the CUREC 2 form. 

Remember that you must complete the core module of the University’s research ethics and integrity training before starting your research. 

It helps to explain your project methods and potential ethical issues clearly and simply in your application. The reviewers may not be experts in your discipline. 

It is much better to use your application to show that you have identified and addressed the ethical issues associated with your research than to try to downplay them. Showing that you have a good grasp of the ethical issues will give the reviewers confidence in your ability to address them throughout the course of your research. 

All CUREC documents are subject to ongoing review. Please always refer to this page (rather than locally stored versions) for the current versions of application forms.

From Thursday 10th October 2024 all ethics applications must be submitted via Worktribe. Microsoft Word application forms submitted after midnight on Wednesday 9th October 2024 will not be accepted.

The four Microsoft Word application forms will be replaced by one online form. The form is dynamic, so the questions applicants are asked to answer will depend on answers to previous questions. 

Please refer to the guidance within the Worktribe ethics applicant user guide.

Applications will be classes as low, medium or high risk applications.

Low risk applications (the equivalent to the previous CUREC 1B applications) are reviewed by a student's supervisor (if the applicant is a student) or by an academic colleague (if the applicant is a member of staff). Applicants should allow 30 calendar days for the review process.

Medium risk applications (the equivalent of the previous CUREC 1A applications) are reviewed by the DREC or by the SSH IDREC if the department does not have its own committee. Applicants should allow 30 calendar days for the review process.

High risk applications (the equivalent of the previous CUREC 2 applications) are reviewed by the DREC and by the SSH IDREC. Applicants should allow 60 calendar days for the review process.

Contact worktribe-ethics@it.ox.ac.uk with any questions about the new system.

• CUREC 1A application form

  CUREC 1A application form

NB: application submitted using this form will not be accepted after 9th October 2024.

Applications should be submitted from your ox.ac.uk email address to your DREC (if your department has one) or to the SSH IDREC via ethics@socsci.ox.ac.uk. 

Before an application can be reviewed, a signature or email endorsement is needed from the PI, the student (for student research) and the head of department or nominee. 

You will receive an email confirming receipt of your application. Please allow 30 calendar days for the review process for CUREC 1A applications. 
 

• CUREC 1B guidance
• CUREC 1B application form

NB: application submitted using this form will not be accepted after 9th October 2024.

Refer to the filter questions in Section B to establish whether the CUREC 1B form is appropriate for your research.

The CUREC 1C form is to be completed by programme or module leaders applying for block ethics approval for a specific module.  It is not to be used to apply for ethics approval for an individual research project.

• CUREC 1C application form

  CUREC 1C application form

 NB: application submitted using this form will not be accepted after 9th October 2024.

• CUREC 2 application form

  CUREC 2 application form

NB: application submitted using this form will not be accepted after 9th October 2024.

Applications should be submitted from your ox.ac.uk email address to your DREC (if your department has one) or otherwise to the SSH IDREC via ethics@socsci.ox.ac.uk. 

If your department has its own DREC, your application will be reviewed and approved by the DREC and then by the SSH IDREC. 

If your department does not have a DREC, your application will just be reviewed by the SSH IDREC. 

Before an application can be reviewed, a signature or email endorsement is needed from the PI, the student (for student research) and the head of department or nominee. 

You will receive an email confirming receipt of your application. Please allow 60 calendar days for the review process for CUREC 2 applications. 

Remember to include relevant supporting documents with your application, for example:

• recruitment invitation letters, emails and adverts
• information sheets
• consent forms and consent scripts
• surveys, questionnaires and interview questions 
• a copy of the approved risk assessment, if relevant
• signatures or email endorsement from the head of department (or nominee), the principal investigator and the student (if applicable)

The guidance on obtaining participants’ informed consent includes templates that you are welcome to use, but remember to adapt them to your project and to your participants. 

Once your application has been reviewed, you will receive feedback by email, normally within 2 to 3 weeks. At this point the committee may request changes or further information. When revising the documents, it helps the reviewers if you use track changes and leave in the reviewers’ comments. 

You will receive an approval letter once your application has been approved. You must not start your study until you receive this letter.

Low-risk research (for example work towards an essay or thesis) undertaken by an undergraduate student whose research is eligible for review by the SSH IDREC or a DREC may qualify for expedited review. If the student can meet the criteria of, and follow, CUREC Approved Procedure 06, the student’s supervisor may conduct the ethics review. The project will then be exempt from further ethical review and approval by the DREC or by the SSH IDREC. The procedure sets out in further detail the type of low-risk undergraduate research eligible for this expedited review process.

In such cases, the undergraduate student must still complete and sign the CUREC1A application form, which must also be signed and endorsed by the student’s supervisor. This, together with any related documents (for example information for participants and consent documents), should then be emailed by the student's supervisor (from an ox.ac.uk email address) to the appropriate DREC (where one exists) or to the SSH IDREC (via ethics@socsci.ox.ac.uk) for their records. Please make it clear that the application has already been reviewed following this process otherwise it might be treated like a normal application to the DREC or IDREC. The DREC or SSH IDREC will acknowledge receipt of such applications but will not issue a formal letter of ethical approval of the project.

Please note that this procedure cannot be used by students whose research is eligible for review by the Medical Sciences Interdivisional Research Ethics Committee (MS IDREC) or by the Oxford Tropical Research Ethics Committee (OxTREC).

NB: this process is being phased out during 2024. From 10th October 2024, applications will need to be submitted within Worktribe Ethics instead of following this process.

There are two options:

1. For a small number of students: the students submit individual applications within Worktribe Ethics.

2. For taught student modules where there are larger numbers of students conducting similar, low risk projects, the Programme or Module leader may submit an application to the DREC or SSH IDREC for approval of a devolved process for the review of individual student projects, for a maximum of three years (the equivalent of the CUREC 1C form).