Concerns and complaints

Projects that have not obtained or adhered to ethical approvals

For any persons who are concerned that a research project under the University's auspices has not obtained or not adhered to ethical approvals, please follow the information on the research integrity contact page.

This page contains information on who you should speak to about any concerns or complaints.

The participant information sheet (PIS) (Word) contains a section indicating to participants what to do if they have a concern or complaint.

If you are a research participant

If you have a concern or complaint about a project you are participating in, contact the lead researcher or project supervisor using the details on the participant information sheet provided to you. If these contact details are not available, or the researcher or supervisor is not able to satisfactorily resolve the complaint, contact the relevant School ethics committee.

If the School ethics committee is not able to satisfactorily resolve the concern or complaint, you should contact UTREC by emailing utrecmail@st-andrews.ac.uk.

If you have any concerns about how your personal data have been used in a project you are participating in, please contact the University Data Protection Officer by emailing dataprot@st-andrews.ac.uk.

If you are a researcher or supervisor

There is no appeal against SECs or UTREC in decisions made about the approval of a project. For other concerns or complaints, please refer to the complaints handling procedure.