Why is Ethical Approval Required: Ethical approval is crucial to help:
- Protect the welfare, rights, dignity and safety of research participants (The researcher will not be covered by the University's insurance if ethical approval was not obtained prior to commencement).
- Protect researchers’ rights to conduct legitimate investigations.
- Protect Al-Quds University reputation for research conducted and sponsored by it.
- Minimize the potential for claims of negligence made against any individual researcher and the University.
What are the Accepted Ethical Standards?
There are a number of ethical standards that have been accepted in which all researchers and ethical committees are expected to comply with:
- Informed consent: All participants must be fully informed of the study, including the potential risks/benefits and exclusion criteria, in order to make a fully informed decision about whether or not to participate in the research
- Benefit not harm
- Confidentiality: All participants have the right for their participation to remain confidential in that only the researcher will be aware who has participated
- Respect: Respecting the culture, gender, background, ethnicity, conditions and differences are of utmost important standards to ensure equality, justice, equity and objectivity of the research.
Ethical review will be required in the following circumstances: For any research conducted by University faculty, staff, or students.
- Research involving human subjects, including use of invasive/semi-invasive procedure, novel technique or the administration of drugs/any substance
- Research involving the use of human tissue or cellular materials (plasma, serum, DNA) extracted from tissue previously collected in the course of normal care
- Research involving the collection of data or access to clinical/ personal records
- Research involving the use of audio/video recordings or photographs
- Research involving the use of psychological / physical testing of participants or the use of medical devices
When is informed consent necessary?
Informed consent is mandatory for any research that involves people and their personal data including electronic surveys, it includes two parts: first, an explanation of the research study/survey; and second, explicit written consent. A request for waiver of informed consent must be specifically justified by the researcher in the proposal to the REC.
