Application for research ethics approval from SDU's Research Ethics Committee

Overview

To apply the REC for a research ethics approval of your research project, you must fill in an application form and upload relevant documentation.

Step-by-step guide

1. Start your application by going to the application start page and enter your name and email address. You will then receive an email with an application ID and a unique link to your application.
2. Access and fill out your application via the link you just created. The application form is saved automatically as you fill it out. You can always leave the form and return via the link.
3. Complete and submit the application form by clicking the Finish button on the last page.

What you will need

The information about the project that you need to have ready to complete the application form includes:

• Basic information about the project, such as project title, information about the responsible/participating researchers, how the project is funded, when the data collection will take place.
• Short layman's description of the research project, in Danish. The layman’s description should be divided into the sections Background (max 100 words), Research goals (max 50 words) and Methods (max 100 words).
• Your own reflections on the research ethics problems that may be in the project
• Answers to a number of questions relating to the ethics of the project. There are questions about:
  • Research involving human participants
  • Data protection
  • Research outside Denmark
  • Environment, health and safety
  • Dual use, technology, and artificial intelligence

At the final pages of the questionnaire, you will be asked to upload supplemental documentation. The documents you need to submit are:

• Project description, 5-10 pages*
• Information material for research participants (if applicable)
• Informed consent statement for research participants (if applicable)
• Interview guide, questionnaire or similar (if applicable)
• Other documents relevant to the case

All documents must be in .pdf format and must have meaningful names (e.g. "Project Description.pdf")

* You must always include the project's full project description/protocol. Does your REC application only concern part of a larger project, or is the project description longer than 10 pages? In this case, please include either 1) a reading guide that clearly marks which parts of the overall project description relate to your REC application, or 2) a customized project description that describes only the (part of the) project that you wish to assess at REC. 

Language

Communication and documents from REC are in English. However, you are welcome to contact/answer REC in Danish or English as you see fit.

Your application is processed by two members of SDU's Research Ethics Committee, and then discussed at the next meeting.
You will receive an answer to your application approximately one week after the case has been dealt with at a meeting. The answer can be a direct approval, a rejection, or an approval that is conditional on you answering certain questions or making certain changes to the project.

If you need help

You can always contact SDU's Research Ethics Committee  via sdu-rec@sdu.dk if you have comments or questions about the application process or about your application.