All researchers at TU Dublin have a duty to conduct their research and innovation activities according to good research practice as outlined in the Code of Conduct for Ensuring Excellence in Research Integrity Consideration of the ethical dimension is an essential step to achieve the high standards required by good research practice and by the University.
As the academic community of TU Dublin engages in highly diverse research and innovation activities, a two-stage approach is used to identify those projects that may be suitable for an expedited review via a self-assessment process and those which require a full review by a Research Ethics Committee. This self-assessment will support researchers who are uncertain about the specific requirements for their project.
If the self-assessment does not identify ethical issues or contravene University policies, the researcher will receive an immediate response via email which can be used as evidence of approval for internal processes (e.g Project set-up).
If one or more ethical issues are identified, the researcher will be directed to complete a full ethics application for review by a Research Ethics Committee and will receive some customised advice aligned with the ethical issues noted in their self-assessment.
The online self-assessment tool is available at Research and Innovation Self-Assessment and should be completed by all researchers who proposed to engage in research and innovation activity.
For researchers who are already aware that there will be a requirement for a full submission and review by a Research Ethics Committee, they may make a full application at Research Ethics Application. The University Research Ethics Committee meets every 2-3 weeks and submissions must be received at least seven days before a meeting to be considered at the following meeting. The finalised calendar of meeting dates for the 2023-2024 academic year will be issued shortly.
For advice in relation to your project please contact the University Research Ethics Committee at researchethics@tudublin.ie.