Please conform to the following protocols in relation to conducting research with research participants in the foreseeable future:
1. Students are requested to contact their academic supervisors prior to starting, or carrying on with any research.
2. Prior to commencing any research please consult the UK Govt. Coronavirus webpage https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/coronavirus-covid-19-uk-government-response
3. All ongoing research should make changes to how participant interactions are conducted.
4. With immediate effect, stop or where possible minimise, all face-to-face interactions with research participants. This includes research conducted with participants outside the UK.
5. In consultation with your academic supervisor, consider if participant interactions can be conducted remotely.
6. Wherever possible, it would be better if, with the agreement of participants, interviews are conducted over the phone or through an online interaction method like Zoom or Skype.
7. If this isn’t possible then the research must be paused.
8. Students recruiting or intending to recruit and collect data in their home countries (outside the UK) should abide by the above and pause face-to-face interaction with participants until further notice.
9. Students expecting to commence research, and gather data outside UK must ensure that their research application has been granted ethical approval by the Faculty/School research ethics committee.
10. Please note that data gathered without ethical approval will not be accepted for research purposes (dissertations or thesis).
11. Ethical approval granted for undertaking research by any other country, will not be accepted, and research proposals will have to be re-reviewed according to Swansea University ethics guidelines.
12. Those conducting research with the NHS should consult the HRA webpages https://www.hra.nhs.uk/planning-and-improving-research/policies-standards-legislation/covid-19-guidance-sponsors-sites-and-researchers/
13. Research participants should be informed that the research has been paused (if no other option of data collection could be arrived at) with an explanation of how the research method would change.
14. Research protocols and consent forms should be revised, to reflect the change in the manner in which data would be gathered.
15. Wherever possible research within the laboratories should be stopped, and if not possible, then should be conducted according to the government coronavirus guidance/measures of hygiene and distancing.
16. Unless the changes made to the way in which researchers interact with participants results in a substantial change to protocol, they will not need to submit a modification request. They should simply update recruitment documents to outline how they will remotely interact and then proceed. Kindly note that this is only a temporary measure.
17. All field trips and Travel for research (staff and students) should be suspended indefinitely.
18. No overseas travel for research should be undertaken. This includes attending conferences/seminars.
