Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences Ethics Committee
Research ethics investigate the responsibility and accountability of academic research in modern societies. In this context, it is the primary task of the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences to examine, upon request, research projects planned by its researchers with regard to implications and consequences which may foreseeably arise for the persons involved and for society.
Central principles of responsibility and accountability of academic research in modern societies are
the right of self-determination of individuals,
das the principle of damage avoidance,
the principle of usefulness and
a fair distribution of the advantages and disadvantages of research.
In concrete terms, this means that research projects should take place with the informed and voluntary consent of the persons involved and that the latter are not exposed to any particular disadvantages or risks.
Where informed and voluntary consent is not obtained in advance of the research (e.g. in the case of some experiments) or where particular disadvantages or risks cannot be ruled out, researchers must explain in a comprehensible and convincing manner why the planned project is nevertheless justifiable from the point of view of research ethics.
In addition, the justification, design, implementation, data security and utilization of the research findings should comply with the rules of good academic practice, as set out for example in the relevant codes of ethics of the professional associations. These include, above all, transparency and traceability of knowledge acquisition, data protection and the publication of research results.
Voluntary recourse to the committee in no way releases applicants from compliance with the legal provisions and regulations of the University of Tübingen and other institutions. It is not the task of the committee to monitor compliance with existing legal provisions and regulations of the University of Tübingen.
Students writing Bachelor’s and Master’s theses are guided in research ethics questions by their supervisors. For capacity reasons, the evaluation of such research projects does not fall within the remit of this committee.
The Faculty Board has established an Ethics Committee headed by the Vice Dean for Research and which includes at least 6 additional professors and 4 further senior members academic staff. The term of office is four years.
The committee focuses on two areas:
Education Sciences (each represented by a professor from HIB, IfE and TüSe/ subject didactics of all faculties)
Social Sciences (one professor) and Economics (one professor).
A member with expertise in ethical questions (from the IZEW or the Global Ethic Institute) may be consulted on relevant issues.
Committee members
Head of the committee:
Professor Dr. Tim Pawlowski, Vice-Dean for Research
Deputy Head:
Professor Dr. Benjamin Nagengast, deputy head of the committee
Upon request, the Ethics Committee will give its opinion on the ethical justifiability of the objectives and procedures of a research project.
a.)Who may apply? All professors and staff members with a doctorate at the Faculty of Social Sciences are eligible to apply. In the LEAD research network, all professors and researchers with a doctorate are also eligible to apply as are the representatives of subject didactics in all faculties whose research relates to empirical social science in areas relevant to education. Doctoral candidates may apply via their supervisors, if applicable.
b.)What forms can the review process take?
Normally, the review is carried out by circular with at least one rapporteur. In the case of simple applications and precedents, the chairman may also make an urgent decision. In the case of ethically complex issues or at the request of a member of the committee, a decision is made in an oral hearing.
Normal review (assessment by the chairman and a specialist rapporteur)
Fast Track (Urgent decision by the chairman in case of existing precedents)
Comprehensive review (review by all members of the ethics committee)
c.)How does it work? Please address questions about procedure and applications to the ethics committee, including the relevant documents (see "Documents to be submitted") by e-mail: ethikkommissionspam prevention@wiso.uni-tuebingen.de.
The ethics committee usually decides on applications within six weeks. Please take this into account when starting your data collection and, if necessary, allow for some lead time. Thank you for your understanding! The statutes on the establishment of ethics committees at the University of Tübingen apply. Conflicts of interest must be reported in good time. All procedures are confidential.
d.)Documents to be submitted For review of a planned research project by the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, the following documents must be submitted via email:
Completed application form
Other application documents as applicable according to research project
Please send the application and all attachments in one file (PDF), thank you!
The form is available via the link in the right-hand column of this page.
It is possible for the WiSo Ethics Committee to take a position on the general ethical acceptability of the goals and procedures of a project outlined in a DFG application. Following the approach of the Ethics Committee in Psychology at U Tübingen, the following choice is possible: 1) Normal application with all documents according to the form (e.g. participant information, etc.) 2) Abbreviated ethics application plus final (submitted) DFG application In addition to only the core information in the ethics application, the final (submitted) DFG application must be submitted with option 2. It must therefore be clarified in advance with the DFG whether the subsequent submission of an IRB is permissible. It is important that the title for the ethics application corresponds with the title of the DFG application. Note that option 2 only grants a conditional IRB and is generally linked to the formal requirement that an ethics committee advises on the details of implementation before the actual implementation of the research project. The choice between these two options has no influence on the processing time (usually 6 weeks).
