Q&As for Postgraduate Research Students

Self certification will be accepted during this period and you will be funded during sickness absence. Please contact your supervisory team if you are unwell or need to take sickness absence.

Health

For coronavirus health advice, please check NHS 111 online or NHS Wales Direct 

Only if you have no internet access, call NHS 111 by dialling 111 - or NHS Direct Wales on 0845 4647.   

For a medical emergency dial 999

Self Isolation

Please also see the latest Government advice on Self isolation

As far as possible you will progress through the normal procedures with the majority of activity taking place online.

Confirmation of Candidature

Regular supervisory meetings are being held online and these progression meetings are included within this guidance.

Thesis submission

Thesis submission will take place online. Electronic versions should be submitted via OneDrive to your School or College. You can find more information on how to use OneDrive and how to share folders using OneDrive, available within your University Microsoft 365 services.

No hard copies of your thesis will be required unless there are extenuating circumstances (such as an examiner requesting a hard copy). If there are any circumstances that require the submission of hard copies, please liaise with your School or College about how you can print and send hard copies remotely.

Viva

All Viva examinations should be held online, through Zoom, Skype or your preferred and available telecommunications channel.

If you wish to postpone your Viva examination for any reason, please discuss this with your supervisory team.

Find out more about our updated guidance for Viva examinations.

I have had my viva and now need to complete my corrections

You can complete your corrections as normal through remote working.

If you require access to any data, facilities or equipment and you are no longer able to access these resources directly, please discuss this with your supervisory team in the first instance. It may be possible to approve an extension for your corrections.

If you think you need to extend your candidature, please discuss this requirement with your supervisory team. All decisions on extensions will be taken in line with the University’s academic regulations which can be found here.

We understand that, with caring responsibilities many postgraduate research students may find it harder to focus upon their research. Please discuss any changes to your ability to proceed with your planned research programme with your supervisory team. You can discuss your options including suspension of studies or extension, as required. This decision should be logged on eVision.

Study spaces are available to book on both campuses via the Library, this includes spaces with PCs.

For information on accessing labs please contact your supervisor or Director of PGR study..

Please refer to the University’s Coronavirus Guidance before travelling to campus.

If you are unable to travel to campus and require access to equipment please get in contact with your School or College in the first instance.

If you have been provided with University equipment (such as a laptop or tablet) to undertake your studies, you will be able to take these home with you provided that you have informed your supervisor(s) and School or College PGR administrator that you plan to do so.

We understand that you may be concerned about using resources, such as Research Training Support Grant or travel funds, within specific timeframes. Please be assured that the University is working with partners to enable a flexible approach to research expenditure. If you have a query, you shold speak in the first instance to your supervisor or the lead grant holder. 

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
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 School/College 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. 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.
16. All field trips and Travel for research (staff and students) are suspended indefinitely.
17. Overseas travel for research will not be undertaken. This includes attending conferences/Seminars.

Pedagogic (Educational) Research:

If you are conducting research on fellow students, or as an integrated part of daily lectures, then this permission must be re-requested, in light of the COVID-19 outbreak, and assurance sought that the permission previously given still stands. Any student researcher, who is recruiting students outside of their own College/School must move to remote recruitment or pause the study as outlined above.

Research on COVID-19

• An expedited review process will be considered for any new studies relating to COVID-19 where there are proven public health grounds to commence.
• In order for such a study to gain clearance to proceed with face-to-face participant interactions and for this review to be expedited, the student must consult the supervisor and the supervisor must act at the Principal Investigator/Primary contact for the research and must provide the following information:
• What are public health grounds for the study to be conducted?
• What is the rationale for the study to be conducted at this time? Why can it not be conducted at a later time?
• Evidence of a Risk Assessment, considering the potential risk to the researcher themselves, signed off by the College Director of Research and Chair of College Ethics committee.
• Researchers should copy their email to the Research Governance Officer

• Please title the email “New Study relating to COVID-19” for prioritisation.
• Please contact your academic supervisor with your research ethics queries in the first instance.

You should continue to undertake postgraduate research remotely, online, and to meet with your supervisory team regularly through Zoom, Skype or your preferred telecommunications channel.  Please discuss any changes to your planned research programme with your supervisory team. They will be able to advise on whether you are able to go ahead, on a suitable mitigation measure or whether you will require an extension to your studies. This decision should be logged on eVision.

For information on accessing labs and equipment please contact your supervisor and/or director of PGR for guidance. 

See the question ‘How does COVID-19 affect research data capture and research ethics?’

You need to discuss any changes to your planned research programme with your supervisory team. They will be able to advise on whether you are able to go ahead on an ethical basis or in line with University policies, or may be able to provide a suitable mitigation measure or determine whether you will require an extension to your studies. This decision should then be logged on eVision.

Yes, our postgraduate research training programme is still running. You can find out about upcoming events as well as booking onto courses on our training pages.

You can also access online training and resources at any time via the Postgraduate Research Skills Hub within Canvas.

Please let us know if you are self-isolating in either University halls or private student accommodation, if you have previously told us about this and your situation has changed please let us know, we do not need to know if you are self-isolating at your home – contact myunihub@swansea.ac.uk.

We will also need to know the address of your accommodation.

Please let us know if you are staying in your halls of residence, if you have previously told us about this and your situation has changed please let us know, we do not need to know if you have returned home and have already told us – contact myunihub@swansea.ac.uk.

We will also need to know the address of your accommodation.

Please let us know if you have returned to your home country – contact tier4attendance@swansea.ac.uk. You will be given important information about your visa and also asked to provide further information to us.

Please let us know if you have returned to your home country – contact myunihub@swansea.ac.uk.