Plymouth Ethics Online System

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) from January 2022) 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):

Submitting an ethics application

Reviewing an ethics application (Faculty Research Ethics and Integrity Committee personnel ONLY) 

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.

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:

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): 

10 February 2022 if required (last update completed 10 January 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 the following on your application: Note: There is a newer version of the project. Update), any user with an application in progress on the date and time shown will need to update their form (by clicking on "update" at the top of the page where it indicates, 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.