Changes in ethical review of research at TSB
In some fields of research, procedures around ethics are more vital than in others, especially when there are test subjects involved. At TSB, the board is making changes in the ethics policy, after a decision from all the Dutch deans of Social Sciences. A bigger committee should check the ethical aspects of more research in the future. Today, the faculty council was officially informed about the implications of the new situation.All deans of Dutch social science schools have discussed the procedure around ethics. In a memo, they write: “Studies involving human participants are customary in the Social and Behavioral Sciences, but the ethical review of the research is until now not regulated for all disciplines and if it is, not above institutional level.” They agreed to regulate this on a national level.
Until now, most of TSB’s research projects that had to be submitted to the ethics committee were in the field of psychology. Since the deans accepted the Code of Ethics for Research in the Social and Behavioural Sciences Involving Human Participants, the faculty’s research in social sciences that involve human subjects also falls under the Code.
The members of the ethics committee have to come from all departments within the faculty, so new members will be asked to join. Because of the larger stream of requests, the faculty also wants to buy a new submission system and appoint an executive secretary. The new committee is supposed to be fully in function by July 1.
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