Introduction to Research Governance

Health research, whether population based, epidemiological or randomised controlled trials, must comply with a host of standards and legislation. The course is led by staff who have many years' experience in health research and have been involved in a wide range of high impact health research projects. Invited tutors provide specialist expertise for complex areas such as Data Protection.

Dates 19 - 20 January 2026
Fee £500
Format Online
Audience Open to all applicants

Course profile

This course is designed for researchers who are new to health research, providing an overview of all you need to consider, and signposting further information and support. You will leave the course knowing which standards and legislation apply to your work, where to go for further support and armed with practical tips on how to fulfil your obligations as a health researcher. Please note that this is an introductory course and not designed for those already experienced in this field who may have specific, complex queries.

Please click on the sections below for more information. 

This online course is taught over 2 consecutive days. All sessions are live and are a mix of lectures, interactive practical sessions and Q&A sessions.

By the end of the course you will have acquired:

  1. an understanding of all aspects research governance and knowledge of the processes involved;
  2. knowledge of your research governance responsibilities;
  3. the skills to think through the ethical issues that might arise in your research; and
  4. the knowledge and skills to provide research participants with the information that they need to make an informed decision about consent to participate in your research study.

This is an introductory course aimed at those who are new to health research, and is not designed for those already experienced in this field who may have specific, complex queries.

This course will cover:

  1. What do we mean by research governance?
  2. Who is responsible for research governance?
  3. When in the research process should you start thinking about it?
  4. Where can you get help and advice?

This course is taught by Dr Lucy Culliford, Dr Sarah Baos and Dr Jo Worthinhton.

Before booking this course, please make sure you read the information provided above about the target audience. It is important that you have access to the relevant IT resources needed for the course to ensure you can get the most from the course.

Bookings are taken via our online booking system, for which you must register an account. To check if you are eligible for free or discounted courses please see our fees and voucher packs page. All bookings are subject to our terms & conditions, which can be read in full here.

For help and support with booking a course refer to our booking information page, FAQs or feel free to contact us directly. For available payment options please see: How to pay your short course fees.

Bookings close two weeks before the start of each course. Once all courses have finished for the current academic year we close the booking system for updates, and re-open again in the Autumn. To be notified about our timescales for opening annual registrations and bookings sign up to our mailing list.
 

Participants are granted access to our virtual learning platform (Blackboard Ultra) 1 to 2 weeks in advance of the course. This allows time for any pre-course work to be completed and to familiarise with the platform.

To gain the most from the course, we recommend that you attend in full and participate in all interactive components. We endeavour to record all live lecture sessions and upload these to the online learning environment within 24 hours. This allows course participants to review these sessions at leisure and revisit them multiple times. Please note that we do not record breakout sessions.

All course participants retain access to the online learning materials and recordings for 5 months after the course. 

University of Bristol staff and postgraduate students who do not wish to attend the full course may instead register for access to the 'Materials & Recordings' version of this course: Further information and bookings.

100% of attendees recommend this course*.
*Attendee feedback from 2026.

Here is a sample of feedback from the last run of the course:

“Found the practical sessions a great way of consolidating what was covered in the talks. There were plenty of opportunities to ask questions throughout. There were lots of useful links shared across the two days - have bookmarked lots to refer back to.” - Course feedback, January 2026.

“Various aspects related to ethical approval were covered.” - Course feedback, January 2026.

“I really liked the live practical sessions. these were interactive and beneficial compared to breakout group sessions that other courses do.” - Course feedback, January 2026.

“This is the second short course I attended, and have found both really valuable. The lead organiser, Lucy, provided a safe space to make comments, have a conversation and answer questions.” - Course feedback, January 2026.

“I have an improved understanding of the role of sponsors and how to RECs review applications. The session in particular going through an IRAS form. For the sessions on informed consent and patient information leaflets, it gave me some food for thought on what I could apply to the trial I am currently working on.” - Course feedback, January 2026.