Promoting ethical practice and safeguarding research ethics
The RJ4All International institute is committed to carrying out projects, research and producing only high-quality publications that conform to internationally accepted research rules and ethics.
To this end, we have created the Research Ethics Audit Processes (REAP), which is led by the Research Ethics Chair, a newly created independent role born out of the Research Ethics Committee’s redesign.
The REAP follows The European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity. This also serves as a framework for self-regulation across all scientific and scholarly disciplines and for all research settings within RJ4All and its projects. We also follow the UK’s Economic and Research Council’s guidance as well as Social Research Association Research Ethics Guidance.
When conducting fieldwork and research, particular attention will be given to any proposed research involving vulnerable groups, addressing sensitive issues, and taking place in risky situations with the potential to cause reputational damage. To safeguard our research integrity, participants, and teams, the Research Ethics Chair coordinates formal, independent ethical reviews. Research ethics approval is contingent on projects complying with data protection procedures and legislation, including the GDPR and Data Protection Policy
RJ4All Research Ethics Audit Chair
How The Research Ethics Audit Processes Works
RJ4All applies a clear and proportionate process to research ethics review:
1. Initial proposal
The Head of Impact and Research submits a brief outline to the Research Ethics Chair. This document must include: a clear project description and methodology, identification of potential ethical issues and proposed strategies for addressing these issues and ensuring compliance.
2. Feedback and proposal development
The Research Ethics Chair provides feedback on the initial outline. The research team then incorporates this feedback into a comprehensive formal research proposal.
3. Ethical review and decision
Once finalized, the formal proposal is submitted alongside the Ethics Review Form. The Research Ethics Chair evaluates the documentation, resulting in one of four determinations::
– Incomplete: Documentation is returned for further refinement.
– Approval: The project is cleared to proceed.
– Approval with Minor Amendments: Conditional approval pending small adjustments.
– Full Independent Ethical Review: Required for projects deemed complex or non-straightforward.
4. Independent ethical review (if required)
A full review is triggered if the Chair identifies deficiencies in areas such as informed consent, confidentiality, or data storage:
– External Reviewers: The Chair coordinates with two additional independent reviewers from RJ4All’s journal peer-review pool.
– Final Decision: The Chair collates all reviews to reach a final verdict:
Revision & Resubmission: The team must update and restart Stage 3.
Confers Approval (‘Ensuring’): A formal Ethical Approval message and unique approval number are issued.
RJ4All has an independent publishing arm, RJ4All Publications. This is a world-class publisher in social and policy sciences. It publishes e-books, the RJSeries and 2 peer-reviewed journals. These are the Youth Voice Journal (YVJ) and the Internet Journal of Restorative Justice (IJRJ).
RJ4All Publications and our Restorative Justice Series are fully committed to ethical publication practice, and have a strict Publications Ethics Guidelines that we adhere to. RJ4All Publications and its Journals are guided by our Editorial Board and International Advisory Board. Their membership includes some of the most prominent academics, researchers and practitioners in the area that we publish.
All work published by RJ4All Publications must comply with our updated ethics procedures. This includes review through the Research Ethics Audit Process (REAP), led by the independent Research Ethics Chair. While publications are independently peer-reviewed and overseen by the Editorial Boards, the Research Ethics Chair is responsible for coordinating ethical review. Where needed, a full independent ethical review may be conducted with additional reviewers. All decisions follow the RJ4All Academic Integrity and Misconduct Policy.
