Meet the Team
You will have already met with your supervisors and understand that their primary role is to offer you guidance and support in your studies.
Your PhD Researcher Representative is Quinn O’Mahar and he will represent your UoA on University level committees to ensure that your voice is heard and any concerns raised.
Your Research Director / Postgraduate Tutor and research area administrator are also available for you, should you require any additional support.
Research Ethics and Integrity
We have an Ethics Filter Committee and consider ethical applications from staff, PhD researchers and taught postgraduate or undergraduate students. The Chair of the Law Filter Committee is Dr Anne Smith.
The University’s policies and related ethics forms are available online, along with the different categories of research involving human participants.
Research in Category A can be approved by the Ethics Filter Committee. Research in Category B needs to go to the Filter Committee and the University Ethics Committee. Most research in our unit either does not involve human subjects or fits into Category A or B.
Note that before submitting to the Filter Committee, researchers need to secure a peer review of proposed research using form RG2; this peer review should be carried out by a staff member not part of the research team. The Filter Committee can expedite this and conduct the peer review itself if the Chair approves.
The Committee considers applications throughout the year, so please do contact the Chair to discuss a submission. Bear in mind also that the Filter Committee may need to refer some applications also to the University Ethics Committee (UREC).
UREC meets about 10 times a year to consider applications. Typically they interview researchers about their proposals; one of the supervisors must attend UREC with the PHD researcher as it is the supervisor who is the PI/Co-I on the submission. The deadlines are available at the website above.
Ethics forms
For ethical approval there are several different documents you will need to prepare. At a minimum they usually include:
- The RG1A form
- A research protocol. The research protocol needs to be about 3-5 pages and include a short background, the aims / objectives of the research, details on the methodology (including case selection, methods and data analysis) and a short bibliography.
- An interview schedule detailing questions; these may be indicative and it may be that you need different sets of questions if you are interviewing different types of participant.
- A participant information sheet. This explains the research in terms a non-specialist can understand, and outlines the participant’s role in the research, and who is doing the research.
- A consent form.
The peer reviewer will need to complete an RG2 form before the ethics application can go to the Filter Committee.
Working Environment
Space
There is a shared space in the Belfast BC block, Fourth Floor.
From time to time PhD researchers may request a desk on the Derry~Londonderry campus and if so the Research Director will endeavour to facilitate that request.
Library
PhD researchers may want to suggest specific books that the Library should purchase if these are helpful generally for research and teaching. Researchers should ask their supervisors to contact the Librarian if they wish to do this.
Under the Sconul Access scheme, PhD researchers can also request access to QUB Library and other libraries in the UK and Ireland.
Each researcher is supervised by a panel of two (or sometimes more) staff members. One of these is designated as ‘Chair’ and has overall responsibility for effective and adequate supervision.
The general practice in the unit is ‘co-supervision’, ie all supervisors play a significant role in the supervision, albeit the exact nature of this may vary.
If a supervisor is on research leave, the normal expectation is that the supervisor remains on the supervision panel as an active supervisor, though there may be a degree of flexibility about attending all meetings.
If a supervisor is on leave for some other reason, eg health or caring responsibilities, for an extended period of time, then the University will need to consider appointing a replacement supervisor. The supervisor will not carry out normal supervision duties during such a period of leave. Before the leave begins the supervisors should discuss the supervision needs with the PhD researcher and then discuss with the Research Director what needs to be put in place during the leave period.
In terms of formal supervision meetings, as a minimum PhD researchers would expect to meet with their supervisors at least once per month if registered full-time and once every two months if registered part-time. However, more frequent meetings would be expected at times (for example, during the first year of study).
Following each formal supervision meeting the PhD researcher should write up a note of the meeting and record it on PhD Manager.
Law Research Area
We are an international and multidisciplinary team of researchers addressing contemporary legal problems including how law deals with the transition from conflict or oppression (transitional justice), how to use the law to promote social justice and protect human rights, how new technologies are affecting the legal professions.
Law
Our law research excels in multiple areas, addressing major societal challenges at local and global levels.