Plymouth Ethics Online System
Find out how to use our new online system for research ethics applications
Introduction
The Plymouth Ethics Online System (PEOS) is a flexible web-based management system to help facilitate and streamline the ethical review process. This is a single sign on system and linked to your University account, so any applications you submit on the system will automatically assign you as the Principal Investigator on the form.
This online ethical review application system is available to members of staff, postgraduate taught and research (PGT/PGR) students and School of Health Professions Undergraduate Students (stage 2 and 3 only) at the University of Plymouth. The system will help applicants submit and track their applications as well as make it easier for the Faculty Research Ethics and Integrity Committees to conduct reviews, provide feedback and approve applications.
PEOS features an automatic submission feature. This means that once you sign the form (and obtain any additional required signatures) the system will automatically submit the application on your behalf. Please note, to ensure your signature is recognised please ensure you remain logged into the system for at least 60 seconds after you sign the form to allow time for the screen to refresh. You will also receive an email confirmation that submission was successful.
Personal Details Information
Since the University personal profile pages were decommissioned, users have not had a way to update their personal information or add an address. This means that there are no address details being pulled through to the PEOS system. However, if you would like to amend this, then you can do so by updating your personal details, which can be found in the location where you log in and at the top right of the screen. Click on your name and choose personal details and then amend your details in the box that appears. Once saved, this will then (only) update the PEOS system PI address.
Access
To access the system, please use the following links and log in with your University of Plymouth username and password (the same information you use to access your email):
Reviewing an ethics application (Faculty Research Ethics and Integrity Committee personnel only)
Helpful information
Guidance on how to use the Plymouth Ethics Online System (PEOS) can be found on the University of Plymouth SharePoint site or on the help pages of the PEOS system.
Applicants can also watch a quick help tutorial which demonstrates how to submit an application.
For technical issues using the system, please contact:
- Ethics Online System Support: ethics-online-system@plymouth.ac.uk or telephone: +44 1752 586703
For general research ethics support, please contact:
- Arts, Humanities and Business: FoAHBethics@plymouth.ac.uk
- Health (Staff, PGT and PGR): FOHEthics@plymouth.ac.uk
- Science and Engineering: scienghumanethics@plymouth.ac.uk
- Plymouth Sponsor: plymouth.sponsor@plymouth.ac.uk
- School of Health Professions Undergraduates: undergradethics@plymouth.ac.uk
More information about each Faculty/Sponsor committee can be found in their respective SharePoint sites below:
If you're applying from Planning and Analytics or SERIO, you will need to choose the Committee you're submitting your application to (Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business) and if you are unsure, please contact the appropriate committee administrator from the list above.
The Faculty of Health Research Ethics and Integrity Committee for Staff, PGR and PGT run a monthly cycle of submission dates and review meetings. For more information, please contact the committee administrator. The dates are as follows (just for Faculty of Health Staff, PGR and PGT applications):
Faculty of Health Taught Masters committee (except Psychology) dates
| Submission dates Deadline 4pm | Committee meeting date | Outcome date |
| Tuesday 7 Sept 2021 | Tuesday 21 Sept 2021 9.30-12.30 | Tuesday 28 Sept |
| Tuesday 5 Oct 2021 | Tuesday 19 Oct 2021 9.30-12.30 | Tuesday 26 Oct |
| Tuesday 2 Nov 2021 | Tuesday 16 Nov 2021 09.30-12.30 | Tuesday 23 Nov |
| Tuesday 30 Nov 2021 | Tuesday 14 Dec 2021 09.30-12.30 | Tuesday 21 Dec |
| Tuesday 4 Jan 2022 | Tuesday 18 Jan 2022 09.30-12.30 | Tuesday 25 Jan |
| Tuesday 1 Feb 2022 | Tuesday 15 Feb 2022 09.30-12.30 | Tuesday 22 Feb |
| Tuesday 1 Mar 2022 | Tuesday 15 Mar 2022 09.30-12.30 | Tuesday 22 Mar |
| Tuesday 5 Apr 2022 | Tuesday 19 Apr 2022 09.30-12.30 | Tuesday 26 Apr |
| Tuesday 3 May 2022 | Tuesday 17 May 2022 09.30-12.30 | Tuesday 24 May |
| Tuesday 31 May 2022 | Tuesday 14 Jun 2022 09.30-12.30 | Tuesday 21 Jun |
| Tuesday 28 Jun 2022 | Tuesday 12 Jul 2022 09.30-12.30 | Tuesday 19 Jul |
| August no meetings |
|
|
Faculty of Health Staff/PhD/HRA committee (except Psychology) dates
| Submission dates Deadline 4pm | Committee meeting date | Outcome date |
| Tuesday 17 August 2021 | Wednesday 1 Sept 2021 9.30-12.30 | Wednesday 8 Sept |
| Tuesday 7 Sept 2021 | Wednesday 22 Sept 2021 9.30-12.30 | Wednesday 29 Sept |
| Tuesday 5 Oct 2021 | Wednesday 20 Oct 2021 9.30-12.30 | Wednesday 27 Oct |
| Tuesday 2 Nov 2021 | Wednesday 17 Nov 2021 09.30-12.30 | Wednesday 24 Nov |
| Tuesday 30 Nov 2021 | Wednesday 15 Dec 2021 09.30-12.30 | Wednesday 22 Dec |
| Tuesday 4 Jan 2022 | Wednesday 19 Jan 2022 09.30-12.30 | Wednesday 26 Jan |
| Tuesday 1 Feb 2022 | Wednesday 16 Feb 2022 09.30-12.30 | Wednesday 23 Feb |
| Tuesday 1 Mar 2022 | Wednesday 16 Mar 2022 09.30-12.30 | Wednesday 23 Mar |
| Tuesday 5 Apr 2022 | Wednesday 20 Apr 2022 09.30-12.30 | Wednesday 27 Apr |
| Tuesday 3 May 2022
| Wednesday 18 May 2022 09.30-12.30 | Wednesday 25 May |
| Tuesday 31 May 2022 | Wednesday 15 Jun 2022 09.30-12.30 | Wednesday 22 Jun |
| Tuesday 28 Jun 2022 | Wednesday 13 Jul 2022 09.30-12.30 | Wednesday 20 Jul
|
| August no meetings |
|
|
Important:
Please ensure you sign and then request all signatures within your form (Other collaborators (co-investigators)/Director of Studies/Supervisor) if required. Other collaborators external to the University will not be able to sign the form (due to single sign on authentication). Committees do not require these to review your application, but if you would like an external signatory to sign the form, then we recommend you scan their signature in as a miscellaneous document.
Please ensure you sign and then request all signatures within your form (Other collaborators (co-investigators)/Director of Studies/Supervisor) if required. Other collaborators external to the University will not be able to sign the form (due to single sign on authentication). Committees do not require these to review your application, but if you would like an external signatory to sign the form, then we recommend you scan their signature in as a miscellaneous document.
If you are resubmitting and have co-investigators within your form, you only need gain one of those signatures for re-submission. If you have a Director of Studies/Supervisor you will need to gain their signature.
The system features an automatic submission function, which will automatically submit your application after all required signatures are obtained. If you are signing an application, please ensure you remain logged into the system until the screen refreshes and you receive email confirmation that:
- your signature has been accepted, and
- your application has been successfully submitted.
If you do not receive an email confirmation within one hour of everyone signing the form, please perform the following:
1. Open the application and double check the form status; it should be listed as submitted or resubmitted. If the status is one of these, please email your requested signatory if you have one or FRIEC Administrator to double-check that they have received your application.
1. Open the application and double check the form status; it should be listed as submitted or resubmitted. If the status is one of these, please email your requested signatory if you have one or FRIEC Administrator to double-check that they have received your application.
2. If the form status is listed as ‘not submitted’ or 'changes requested', then please double check:
- that an appropriate signature has been obtained
- that no additional blank signature boxes are listed
- that all relevant sections have been completed
- that the application is not pending a mandatory update (listed in a bar at the top of the screen).
If you have performed all of these checks and the application has still not automatically submitted, please email Plymouth Ethics Online System support ethics-online-system@plymouth.ac.uk and provide your project reference number, title and a screenshot confirming these criteria and a member of the team will be able to assist you.
If you wish to make an amendment to a historical application (made prior to PEOS), then please contact your faculty research ethics and integrity committee.
Important:
Updates are performed on the form once a month (less or more depending on change requests – see dates dates below):
Updates are performed on the form once a month (less or more depending on change requests – see dates dates below):
1 August 2022 if required (last update completed 13 June 2022)
These will be noted on the login page with the note that an update was performed to the ethics application form on "date and time". If you see "Warning: The project owner must update your project in order to submit this form. Update" on your application, any user with an application in progress on the date and time shown will need to update their form by clicking "Update" at the top of the page before it can be submitted.
If you are waiting for your form to be signed by another collaborator/supervisor/director of studies, then you will need to click on the update and re-sign and submit your application. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Training
There are extensive guides for all users of the system available above and applicants can watch the quick help tutorial which demonstrates how to submit an application. R&I also provides training on how to use the Plymouth Ethics Online System with one to one or group training. Please contact ethics online system support at ethics-online-system@plymouth.ac.uk to arrange a bespoke training session.
New grant pre-award process
The University has now switched the research grant pre-award process (encompassing project costing, peer review and approval) from paper-based to fully electronic and online.
The new tool is called Award Manager and sits within Unit4. It provides instant access to real-time data about research activities, allows for split costing between schools and departments and streamlines the approval process.
Read the Infonetica case study
The University of Plymouth's new ethics review system went live on 20th April 2020 and is being used by staff, taught masters and postgraduate research students. They have found the software to be intuitive, easy to use, efficient and time saving, in handling the 350-400 low to high risk ethics applications the university receives in a typical year. The new system fulfilled the requirements to provide a single repository for all review documentation as well as to assure full GDPR compliance.
