People:

Research Ethics

Code

• Act with skill and care, keep skills up to date.
• Prevent corrupt practice and declare conflicts of interest.
• Respect and acknowledge the work of others.
• Ensure that research is justified and lawful.
• Maximise positive impacts on society and the environment.
• Discuss issues science raises for society.
• Do not mislead; present evidence honestly.

Adapted from the BBC report (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6990868.stm) of the seven principles of the universal ethical code for scientists (http://www.berr.gov.uk/dius/science/science-and-society/public_engagement/code/index.html), aimed at building trust between scientists and society, proposed by Prof. Sir David King, Chief Scientific Advisor to H.M. Government, in September 2007.

The code will be open to continuing debate and amendment through our ethics committee , the Informatics Research Advisory Committee.

University

The School of Informatics, as part of the University of Edinburgh, requires that all research carried out by its members is of the highest scientific and ethical standards, and follows the University's guidelines.

College

The College of Science and Engineering Research Ethics website provides definitive information for research ethics in all Schools within the College.

School

Directors of Institutes have authority, delegated by Head of School, to approve research grant and contract bids and are responsible for checking that ethical issues are appropriately flagged and considered.

The School Research Advisory Committee acts as the Ethics Committee for the School.

Any final resolution within the School can be raised with the Head of School. In cases of doubt or broader issues, the Head of School may refer that matter across to the ethics process of another School.

Researchers having any queries about the ethical status of their research, should contact their Director of Institute, or seek advice on procedures from their School ethics representatives before submitting an application for funding, or, if carrying out research that is not externally funded, before the project is begun.

The School has a representative on the College Research Ethics Committee (Prof. Austin Tate as at December 2007), which reports to the University Research Ethics Committee, and a nominee (Dr. Frank Keller as at December 2007) to assist with the procedures relating to ethical consideration of human-subject experiments which may be referred to the School of Psychology Ethics Committee.

On an annual basis, for reporting to the College Research Ethics Committee and onwards to the University Research Ethics Committee, the School ERI representative will provide a list of all applications where an IRG-1 entry flagged an ethical concern, along with a note on their resolutions.

Members of Staff

Individuals should flag any ethical concerns on form IRG-1 which is completed for each research proposal, and deposited with ERI.

The University and College Research Ethics Committee remit includes oversight of all research-related ethical issues. Some examples of the areas that should be considered are:

• informed consent of human subjects
• research on animals
• privacy issues

This flow chart may be helpful when considering whether there are ethical implications to a particular piece of research on human subjects (with thanks to the University of Surrey Ethics Committee).

Research Associates, Visitors and Students

The normal practice of the School of Informatics is that PIs must approve the experiments of their RAs, hosts must approve the experiments of their visitors, and supervisors must approve the experiments of their students. In all cases the approver will raise any ethical concern to a higher level if necessary.