Ethics committees
An integral part of any research is its ethical aspect. There are two ethics committees at the level of our university, but only one of them is dedicated to the ethics of research projects. The following text explains when it makes sense for FSS researchers to request such an assessment.
First of all, it is important to clarify the area of responsibility of the two Ethics Committees. The Ethics Board deals with academic integrity, which includes topics such as publication ethics and the correct handling of data. In contrast, the purpose of the Research Ethics Committee (REC) is to protect the ethics of research, which in practice means first and foremost to protect its human participants. Research projects are sent for review to the latter.
The REC ensures that everyone who participates in a research project at MUni is always properly informed, is not harmed in any way, and, if possible, leaves with a good feeling that they have contributed to something meaningful. Following the example of many prestigious universities abroad, the REC is a multidisciplinary body with clearly defined guidelines for its operation.
To fulfill its purpose, the REC always assesses research projects before they start. At the same time, however, it is understood that sometimes the development of specific research methods is part of the project itself. In this case, the Committee assesses the project before it starts based on the information available at the time. The specific methods are then approved afterward as so-called project revisions (but always before the start of the actual data collection).
Which projects should be sent to the REC for consideration?
- Assessment is required by law when research uses biomedical methods (e.g. blood sampling or MRI). This obligation also applies to projects that are primarily social science oriented but include some biomedical methods.
- An assessment is also required in cases where ethics committee approval is required by the granting agency or another funder. In some cases, while the funder does not explicitly require approval, documented ethics approval can be a competitive advantage that increases the chances of receiving the grant.
- More and more often, high-quality peer-reviewed journals also require ethics committee approval as a condition for research to be published at all. Since valid ethical approval can only be obtained before the research is conducted, it is important to think ahead about this eventuality in advance. Unfortunately, it is not possible to obtain additional approval once the data has already been collected.
- Asking for a project assessment is recommended in all other cases where researchers want to be sure that their research is ethically and legally sound. Typically, these are situations where the subjects of the research are vulnerable groups (e.g. children or people from socially disadvantaged groups) and people in a dependent position (e.g. clients or students). It may also be research that involves different types of risk, strain, or deception or asks about sensitive topics.
- The REC assessment also makes sense when we collect and store personal data (e.g. names, contact details, but also audio and video recordings of specific people) and we want to make sure that our practices comply with the principles of data protection and GDPR.
In case of uncertainty, the suitability of submitting a specific project to the REC can be consulted at no obligation with members of the REC from our faculty or directly with the secretary or lawyers of the Committee. Detailed guidelines and application documents are available on the Committee's website.
Author of the text: Jan Šerek
