Presented by Prof Phil Summers
"Ethics and ethical principles extend to all spheres of human activity. They apply to our dealings with each other, with animals and the environment. Ethics serve to identify good, desirable or acceptable conduct and provide reasons for those conclusions."
Ethics extremely important. Failure to comply with ethical regulations and requirements can result in the failure of a student and the thesis. There are publications (National Statement on Ethical Conduct) available that outline the guidelines to follow with regards to the ethical requirements, this includes both animal and human participants in research.
Guiding Principles and Legislations:
- National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Research Involving Humans - published by the Heatlth and Medical Research Council, 1999
- JCU Policies
Applications:
- Information avail on JCU Website - see "Human Ethics" in index
- Applications to be submitted 2 weeks before a meeting
- Applications in lay terms, easy to understand by non-experts
- Checked/signatures in advance - Head of School and Supervisor
- Committee may require applicants to attend meeting to explain and justify research proposal
Human Ethics - Guiding Principles
- Integrity - honest conduct of research and dissemination of results (not altering)
- Respect for Persons
- Beneficence - minimise risks and discomfort and maximise possible benefits
- Justice
- Consent - give the ability to allow for acceptance and withdrawal, ensure anonymity
- Research Merit and Safety
- Special Considerations for Research involving children as well as genetic research
- Special Conditions for Clinical Trials
"Research must be conducted or supervised only by persons or teams with experience, qualifications and competence appropriate to the research. Research must only be conducted using facilities appropriate for the search and where there are appropriate skills and resources for dealing with any contingencies that may affect participants."
Reporting:
- Annual reports are required from researchers
- Confirmation of final ethics report for pre-completion seminar evaluation by supervisory committee
- Ethics committee reports annually to NRMRC, University Council and QLD Government Animal Welfare Unit
---
Looking at the presentation today, I have a much better understanding of the requirements when it comes to ethics. As soon as I compile a method of surveying the public, I'll have to run that by Gianna first, then I'll need to look at getting the application written and submitted to the Ethics Committee. Application needs to be absolutely clear. Ethics committee may request further information and each resubmission can take up to a month.
