Standards

Research governance framework 

The Gambling Commission's Research Governance Framework.

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Published
30 April 2026

Last updated
30 April 2026 - Changes

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Contents

• Research governance framework 

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• Introduction
• • Research at the Gambling Commission
  • The Research Governance Framework
  • Developing and updating the research governance framework
• Ethical gambling research
• • Introduction to ethical gambling research
  • Core research principles and guidelines for ethical gambling research
  • Research involving AI
  • Conflicts of interest
  • Research misconduct
• Ethical approval for gambling research with human participants
• • Which projects require ethical approval
  • General considerations for ethical approval in gambling research
  • The ethical approval process
• The peer review process
• Roles and responsibilities
• Other external research involvement
• Research data governance
• • General principles of research data governance and research data safeguarding
  • What documents are required?
  • Data sharing
• Dissemination of research
• Monitoring, review and data corrections
• Appendices
• • Appendix 1: Ethics Checklist for projects requiring full Ethical Approval
  • Appendix 2: Data management plan checklist checklist
  • Appendix 3: Peer review checklist
  • Appendix 4: Research misconduct

Appendix 3: Peer review checklist

The following questions are asked when peer reviewing research:

• Have the research questions been addressed adequately?
• Is the paper well written, is the text clear and easy to read?
• Does the report meet its objectives in terms of content, analysis and findings?
• Is there a plain English summary?
• Are all tables and figures appropriately and sufficiently described in the text?
• Are the results stated in the text supported by the data? Can they be verified easily by examining the data, tables and figures?
• Are the conclusions supported by the data presented?
• Do the conclusions address the research question?
• Are the research methods appropriate, scientifically sound and described clearly in the text?
• Does the research adhere to the key research principles stated in the Research Governance Framework?
• Does the research meet the research guidelines outlined in the Research Governance Framework?
• Have the ethical approval criteria been met (see ethics checklist) ?
• Are there any factual or numerical errors? If so, what are they?
• Are there any issues or concerns in how the research findings have been reported and analysed?
• Does the report need copyediting or editing for publication?
• Have any potential conflicts of interest been clearly stated?
• Is there a clear technical report (if applicable) stating research limitations and potential bias?
• Is there any indication that data may have been fabricated or inappropriately manipulated?
• Are citations provided for all assertions made within the paper (not based on data analysis)?
• Are the references provided the most appropriate to support the aims of this project?

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Appendix 2: Data management plan checklist checklist Next section
Appendix 4: Research misconduct

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Last updated: 30 April 2026

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