Collecting, using and sharing data in research with people requires that ethical and legal obligations are respected.
The Understanding Society study protocols and research programme are scrutinised by a number of research ethics committees to assure that ethical and legal obligations are respected at all times.
Ethical approval statement
The University of Essex Ethics Committee has approved all data collection on Understanding Society main study and innovation panel waves, including asking consent for all data linkages except to health records. Requesting consent for health record linkage was approved at Wave 1 by the National Research Ethics Service (NRES) Oxfordshire REC A (08/H0604/124), at BHPS Wave 18 by the NRES Royal Free Hospital & Medical School (08/H0720/60) and at Wave 4 by NRES Southampton REC A (11/SC/0274). Approval for the collection of biosocial data by trained nurses in Waves 2 and 3 of the main survey was obtained from the National Research Ethics Service (Understanding Society – UK Household Longitudinal Study: A Biosocial Component, Oxfordshire A REC, Reference: 10/H0604/2).
For further details on the various committees which have provided ethical approval of the Understanding Society study and its components as appropriate see below:
Main survey: Ethics approval was received from the University of Essex Ethics Committee
- By letter dated 6 July 2007 for Waves 1 and 2
- By letter dated 17 December 2010 for Waves 3 to 5
- By letter dated 20 August 2013 for Waves 6 to 8
- By letter dated 4 October 2016 for Waves 9-11
- Ethics Approval number ETH1920-0123 for Wave 12
- Ethics Approval number ETH2021-0015 for Wave 13
- Ethics Approval number ETH2122-0246 for Wave 14
- Ethics Approval number ETH2223-0264 for Wave 15
- Ethics approval number 22/EE/0260 was received from the NHS Research Ethics Committee for Wave 16
Linkage to health records
- National Research Ethics Service (NRES) Oxfordshire REC A (08/H0604/124): 21 October 2008
- NRES Royal Free Hospital & Medical School (08/H0720/60): 18 June 2008
- NRES Southampton REC A (11/SC/0274): 28 September 2011 and 24 November 2011
Health Assessment and IBIO pilot
- NRES Oxfordshire REC A (10/H0604/2): 9 April 2010
- NRES Oxfordshire REC A (10/H0604/62): 19 August 2010.
- NRES Oxfordshire REC A (10/H0604/70): 20 January 2011
