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  6. Amendments to a Research Project

Amendments to a Research Project

People collaborating around a table.

If you are planning to make changes to your research project, having already obtained favourable opinion from the Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC), the amendment will need to be agreed and recorded by HREC so there is an accurate record of your research.

Examples of possible amendments include:

Minor amendments

  • Change in the project title
  • Change in the end date of the project
  • Small changes to the number of participants

Major amendments

  • Change in Principal Investigator
  • Any significant change in methodology e.g. reimbursing participants; using an online survey rather than face to face interviews or vice versa; the use of focus groups; the use of observations; audio or audio-visual recording
  • Any significant change in participant type e.g. age range or non-vulnerable to vulnerable participants
  • Change in location
  • Change in research outputs e.g. from a report to a published article
  • Introduction of additional groups of participants. Please note that consent forms used for these groups must be GDPR compliant – use the consent form template as a guide.

Process for obtaining favourable opinion for an amendment to a research project

  • Use the Research Ethics Application System to create an amendment sub-from (see Research Ethics Application System Guide for Applicants).
  • If you submitted your original application using the paper form, you will be unable to create an amendment sub-form in the Research Ethics Application. Please contact the Human Research Ethics team for guidance. Please include your HREC reference number.
  • Amendments will be reviewed by HREC, and you will be notified of the outcome within seven working days.