Frequently Asked Questions

I cannot locate my supervisor’s details

The Online Research Ethics Management System (OREMS) is an external system to the University, and as such the system will not automatically hold staff and student details (Title, Faculty, School etc...). This is data held by the University as an organisation. If your supervisor’s details are not immediately located, they will need to register an account on OREMS before their details can be located. Request your supervisor to register an account on OREMS. To do so, they should log into OREMS by clicking on the below link and logging in via their UoB credentials: https://orems.bristol.ac.uk The system will automatically register their details. They only need to do this once. Once their details have been registered, you will then be able to find your supervisors details on the system.

I need to make changes to my study – do I need to submit a new research ethics application?

If your research ethics application has received a favourable opinion and you need to make further changes, you should submit an amendment request. This will allow you to outline any changes to the study and upload any revised or new study documents for review by the Chair of the relevant research ethics committee. To submit an amendment request: 1. Log onto OREMS (https://orems.bristol.ac.uk) 2. In your work area, locate and select the ethics application that you wish to submit an amendment request for. 3. In the left-hand side under 'actions' select the 'Create Sub Form' action and select 'Amendment Notification Form'. 4. Complete your amendment form, outlining your proposed changes, and upload any revised or newly created documents for review. 5. Once completed, select 'submit'. Once submitted we will be able to process your amendment request for review. Please note that an amendment request should only be submitted if your application has already received a formal favourable ethics opinion. If you are submitting further revisions in response to a conditional ethics decision, you should edit the original application and resubmit (please see the question below on resubmitting your ethics application).

I’ve received a conditional ethics opinion – how do I resubmit my response to the committee?

When you receive a conditional ethics opinion, your application form will be unlocked for further editing. To respond to the issues raised by the Research Ethics Committee reviewing your application, please do the following: 1. Open the project from your work area in OREMS. 2. Select any of the question pages on the right-hand side to access the application form and use the navigation buttons on the left to skip pages or to return to the application overview if needed. 3. Edit the form as appropriate, taking into account the issues noted by the committee. 4. Upload any revised study documents if necessary -- note you will not need to delete the old documents as the revised documents will be clear to the reviewer. 5. Upload your responses to each of the issues listed by the committee as a separate document in the 'Supporting information' section at the end of the form. 6. Sign the application, as before. 7. Select the 'Submit' button on the left-hand side of the form.

How do I add a collaborator to my project?

1. Select the project from your Work Area on OREMS 2. Select 'Share' from the left-hand side menu. 3. Start typing your supervisor/collaborator’s name or email address in the 'Collaborator email' search box and select when it appears. 4. Choose the relevant access permissions – we recommend only allowing access to read unless you would like them to edit on your behalf. 5. Click 'Share' Please note that your collaborator will not receive an email notification once you have added them as a collaborator. We recommend that you email your collaborator to let them know that you have shared your form with them. Collaborators will also need to be registered on OREMS in order to access your application, which they can do by visiting https://orems.bristol.ac.uk/. Once you have shared your application, the project will be visible in your collaborator’s OREMS Work Area.

How long will it take to receive a favourable ethics opinion?

Regarding the time it takes to receive a favourable ethics opinion, the short answer is that this depends on a number of factors, i.e., whether the project qualifies for a low risk checklist application vs full ethics applications, how complete the research ethics application is, the availability of the Faculty Research Ethics Committee (FREC) members to virtually review and comment on their ethics application, or the length of time for the minutes of a meeting where your application was reviewed takes to be approved before decision letters can be issued etc... However, the initial review period, i.e., obtaining a decision should be undertaken within 1-2 weeks from application validation (confirmation that your submitted application is complete). However, it is worth noting that rarely an ethics application will obtain a favourable opinion (ethical approval) in the first instance, most likely researchers will receive a conditional opinion, with issues raised for them to address and their response to those issues would then need to be submitted for review by the Chair which could take an additional 1-2 weeks. Therefore, for full ethics applications it may take 4 weeks at the earliest to receive a favourable opinion (approval).

My faculty and school details are not showing on the application form and I am unable to submit

If you have logged into OREMS for the first time, the Faculty and School details on page one of your application form may not be visible at first. As the system updates every hour, you may need to wait a short time until this information appears. The time it takes will vary depending on when you have first logged into the system.

I need help submitting my application form – how can I book onto a submission clinic?

If you would like help in submitting your ethics application, you can book onto a 1-1 submission clinic with a member of the Research Ethics and Integrity team. This session will involve working through your application, answering any questions you may have and assisting you with submitting your ethics application for review. If you wish to book onto a submission clinic, please email research-ethics@bristol.ac.uk and a member of the team will send you a calendar invitation to the submission clinic.

How do I know my form has been submitted for review?

If you have not received an email confirmation that your form has been submitted, your ethics application will not have been submitted for review. You must ensure that you have selected ‘Submit’ on the actions panel on the left-hand side of your form. You can only submit your form once the completeness check has been completed.