D91.3 - Ethical Procedures, Risks and Safeguards

There are many considerations to take into account when conducting research. Ethics should be applied to all stages of research, including planning, conducting and evaluation. It is important to know and obey relevant laws and institutional and governmental policies (e.g. obtaining commitment and authorizations in the preparation phase), but furthermore, the effectiveness and credibility of research cannot be maintained without carefully weighed consideration and active implementation of ethical standards. Ethics in research encompasses both, ensuring good scientific practice (i.e.researcher ethics) and safeguarding individuals and even society at large (i.e. research ethics). Here we focus on the ethical sides of the research methodology in relation to DRIVER experiments, e.g. the importance and quality of informed consent. Other issues, such as data protection obligations (Special Clause 15) are assessed in more detail in D95.21, but will also be described here. The annex contains templates for Informed Consent Forms and Research Ethics Approval Applications. A powerpoint presentation with the most important principles and advice will be circulated with theDeliverable. This presentation is also included in Annexes.