Research & Development Directorate

Support for Researchers > Research or Audit ?

This guidance will help you to design your research project. It can also help you to investigate if full ethical review is required.

You can access the guidance listed below at :

• Guidelines to help researchers and RECs to decide what is appropriate/inappropriate for submission to RECs (Adobe PDF 20kb)
• NRES Leaflet: Defining research (Adobe PDF 110kb)
• Differentiating audit, service evaluation and research v1.1 July 06 (Adobe PDF 109kb)
• NHS Research and Development Forum guidance on categorising and managing research and related projects Jul 2006 (MS Word 113kb)

If you are still unsure as to whether your study requires ethical approval please send an email with a description of your proposal (one side of A4 in length) to seek the opinion of the Chair of the local Committee (South Manchester REC) c/o the Assistant Co-ordinator diane.catterall@northwest.nhs.uk.

Alternatively you can send your A4 summary to NRES for an opinion (please email: queries@nationalres.org.uk)