Research Ethics Approval Request

When and how to use this letter

Apply well before you need to start. Ethics committees often meet only monthly, and incomplete applications get deferred to the next meeting, costing you a full cycle. Submit at least two months before your planned start date, more if your study involves vulnerable groups.

Write for non-specialists. Committee members come from different disciplines, so explain your methods in plain language. Applications drowning in field-specific jargon get sent back for clarification, which delays approval by weeks.

Address the core concerns explicitly: informed consent, confidentiality, data storage, and the right to withdraw. Attach your actual consent forms and information sheets, not descriptions of them. Committees approve documents they can read, not promises about documents you will create later.

Never start data collection before approval is granted. Doing so is a serious violation that can invalidate your entire study and, at many institutions, counts as research misconduct. If the committee requests changes, respond to every point individually and resubmit promptly.

Build ethics review into your project timeline from the start, not as an afterthought. Many students plan data collection for a date that ethics timelines make impossible. A realistic schedule with the review period included keeps your supervisor confident and your project on track.

Frequently asked questions

Related templates