It can sometimes be difficult to determine whether a study or project requires review and approval by the Ethics Committee. We have prepared this guide to make that decision easier and to help you submit your application smoothly. In order to avoid delays in the Ethics Committee’s decision-making process and to save our valued researchers time, we recommend that Ethics Committee applications be prepared in line with the information below before being sent to our Committee. We hope that by reviewing the questions below you will find answers to the issues you are wondering about.
All research involving human participants, and all other activities that partly involve human research, must be reviewed by the relevant ethics committee and approved before data collection begins, regardless of whether a sponsor or funding body is involved. All research involving human participants (including interviews, surveys and questionnaires) must be reviewed by the relevant ethics committee.
Yes. These rules also apply to student research and projects carried out under the supervision of a faculty member. However, the supervising faculty member is primarily responsible for obtaining ethics committee approval and for conducting, supervising and managing the research.
No. However, research involving human participants and all other activities that partly involve human research must be reviewed by the relevant ethics committee and approved before data collection begins.
No. Retrospective ethics committee approval is not required for articles that use research data from before 2020, that are produced from master’s/doctoral studies (this must be stated in the article), or that were submitted to a journal in the previous year and have been accepted but not yet published.
All research and projects involving human participants must be reviewed and approved before the study begins and before any data is collected.
No. Ethics committee approval cannot be granted retrospectively. The initial review and approval must be completed before the study begins.
In the section listing the names and references of the measurement instruments: if the instrument to be used in the research qualifies as a “scale” and is scientifically valid and reliable, it must be described as a “scale” and its full reference must be given; if the instrument was developed by the researchers and/or has not scientifically qualified as a scale, it must not be called a “scale” but named according to its type, such as “questionnaire”, “form”, etc., and it must be stated that it was developed by the researcher.
Yes. If you are a faculty member, staff member or student of IZU and you take part in conducting the study, your research must be approved by our relevant ethics committee, regardless of where the study will be carried out.
If there are no missing documents or content in your application, it is forwarded to our Committee through the EBYS system. Our Committee meets in the last week of every month and considers the applications that have reached it by the 15th of that month. Applications received after the 15th are considered on the agenda of the following month’s meeting. After the meeting, the reasons for applications that are not approved are notified as soon as possible, depending on the intensity of the agenda. Preparing the approval documents for research that has been approved may take up to 15 working days, including the time allowed for feedback on requested corrections.
If you submit your complete application documents to your affiliated unit on time so that they reach the Committee by the 15th of the month (at least two days before that date), your application will be reviewed within the expected period. Applications reaching the Committee after the 15th of the month are placed on the agenda of the following month’s meeting. Because of internal administrative procedures, submitting an application to the Institute Directorate or the Dean’s Office does not mean that it has reached the Committee. Students should follow up with the Institute Directorate, and academic staff with the Faculty Secretariat, to check whether their applications have been forwarded to the Office of the Ethics Committee.
Yes. Before any scientific research related to the COVID-19 pandemic, approval must be obtained through an online application to the commission established by the Ministry of Health for this purpose. The Application Form and the letter of approval must be submitted as annexes to the Ethics Committee application. The Ministry concludes the application within 5 working days.
Application Link:
Yes. Under Circular No. 2020/02 of the Ministry of National Education, scientific studies to be conducted in schools and institutions of all types and levels affiliated with the Ministry of National Education must be prepared in accordance with the Ministry’s Circular No. 2020/02 on Scientific Research Implementation Permits. For permission requests concerning national and international research applications and data collection activities to be carried out by researchers, applications to the relevant institutions are made by graduate students through the Head of the Department and the Institute. To obtain a study permit, the student must first submit a preliminary application through https://ayse.meb.gov.tr and complete the “Research Permit Application Undertaking” included in the circular, then apply to the Institute Directorate with a petition attaching the Undertaking, the thesis proposal and the scales/questionnaires. Academic staff are required to apply individually through https://ayse.meb.gov.tr. The circular states that judicial and administrative investigations will be initiated by the Ministry against researchers who act otherwise.
See the Circular Link: http://mevzuat.meb.gov.tr/dosyalar/2034.pdf
– Undergraduate students may be permitted to take part as volunteer participants only under the supervision and responsibility of their academic advisors, or in research involving minimal risk.
– The student must be informed about the purpose and rationale of the study, the data collection process and the researcher’s field of interest.
– The invitation for a student to participate voluntarily in the research must be designed in a non-coercive manner. The student must be able to withdraw from the study or refuse to take part at any time, without any penalty or loss of benefit.
– Researchers must not use students’ regular class hours to recruit participants and/or to conduct the study.
Yes. In order for participants under the age of 18 to take part in research as volunteer participants, the signed consent of their parents or legal representatives must be obtained.