Obtain research ethics approval

---
type: "Service Family"
title: "Obtain research ethics approval"
description: "Identify the sponsor, institutional and statutory approvals applicable to a proposed study before it begins."
status: "population-complete"
assertion_status: "normalized"
jurisdiction: "nation-specific"
observed_at: "2026-08-08"
sources:
  - id: "further-education-university-research-source-register"
    title: "Further education, university and research"
    resource: "../source/domain-registers/further-education-university-research.v1.yaml"
    author: "organisation:okf-uk-living"
    observed_at: "2026-08-08"
---

# Obtain research ethics approval

## Place in the process

This topic sits within **Conduct and recognise research and qualifications** in the **Further education, university and research** life-course
domain. What comes before depends on the person's situation and nation; the first
safe step is to select the current official route rather than assume one UK process.

## What this family covers

Identify the sponsor, institutional and statutory approvals applicable to a proposed study before it begins.

The ordinary discovery journey is to select the jurisdiction-specific route, follow
the responsible authority or provider's current instructions, and retain the
confirmation, referral, decision or next-step information it produces.

## If the ordinary route does not fit

If a route is unavailable, the circumstances fall outside it, or the source signals
an urgent, safeguarding, clinical or legal boundary, stop and follow that authority's
exception or complaint handoff. The bundle records this branch but does not decide it.

## Official routes

- [England: Health Research Authority](https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/health-research-authority/about)
- [Scotland: Further and higher education in Scotland](https://www.mygov.scot/browse/education-training)
- [Wales: Further and higher education in Wales](https://www.gov.wales/education-skills)
- [Northern Ireland: Higher education in Northern Ireland](https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/information-and-services/education/higher-education)

These are links and original navigation summaries. A national discovery page is a
handoff to the current service, not evidence that eligibility, evidence, costs,
deadlines or remedies are identical across nations or providers.

## What may follow

The result can feed the next family in **Conduct and recognise research and qualifications**, another enclosing
process, or a provider-specific review or redress route. Use Graph to inspect the
ordinary and exception episodes, sources, actors, requirements, outputs and outcomes.

## Review status

This record is population-complete for discovery and requires specialist review
before any legal, clinical, safeguarding or high-impact operational claim is
described as release-grade.