Under what conditions is an assessment of the ethics commission required?
- if the study participants belong to a particularly vulnerable group of people, these are groups of people who are vulnerable because of their physical, mental or psychological constitution or because of their special social situation:
- Children and adolescents
- People of all ages suffering from a somatic illness and/or a physical disability and/or mental disorder
- People with cognitive deficits or dementia
- Persons with legal adult representatives
- People in emergency or extreme situations, e.g. people currently in situations of flight
- Persons to whom custodial or legal measures restricting their freedom are applied
- Pregnant women
- Persons for whom the voluntary character of participation is questionable due to a relationship of dependence (e.g. students of the Sigmund Freud University
- if the research project’s question addresses value-sensitive issues .These include, for example:
-Gender issues
-Sexual orientation
-Religious issues
-Ethnic issues
-Political issues
-…
In case of doubt as to whether the research project deals with a value-sensitive topic, the ethics commission will provide information as to whether a review is required or at least advisable.
- if a publication of the research results is planned: note that most scientific publication organs require the submission of a positive vote of an ethics committee for research work using personal data.
