As a researcher, you are often asked about the ethical aspects of your research. Both Ghent University and funding agencies require that research meet the highest ethical standards.
Research ethics are very diverse. Think of animal testing, clinical trials on humans, the collection of personal data, research that is useful both for civilian and militarily purposes (dual use), research with a possible negative impact on the environment, risks of violating human rights, … All ethical issues that can arise in research have been brought together in a new web section on research ethics. This section shows, per ethical issue, what you should take into account in your research.
It is always important at the start of your research to evaluate all possible ethical risks and to take the necessary precautions to avoid harming people, animals and the environment. Moreover, the law, the funding agency or the journal in which you want to publish often require ethical approval of your research.
Researchers at Ghent University can contact 11 ethics committees for advice and/or ethical approval of their research. Do you want to know whether your research requires ethical approval and, if so, which ethics committee you should apply to? Then use our new interactive ethics decision tree. By answering a few questions you will know if and where you can apply for ethical approval.
We also added information on what funding agencies require of you with regards to research ethics, at each stage of the research project (proposal, review, execution). Don’t hesitate to have a look.
For general questions on research ethics you can contact the DOZA unit for ethics via ethics@ugent.be or the ethics committee of Ghent University that is relevant to you.