The University Research Ethics Committee (Ethics Committee for short) assists the university's researchers in ensuring adherence to ethical standards in their research and advises on security-relevant aspects of research.
Professor Susanne Mayr, who holds the Chair of Psychology and Human-Machine Interaction, is the chairwoman of the Ethics Committee. As a psychologist, she takes an empirical approach to her research and has frequently submitted ethics applications in the past for studies involving human participants. “I have benefited greatly from the dedication of other ethics committees and ethics committee members. So it's only natural and fair that I should also take on this job”, she says about her motivation.
Remit of the Ethics Committee
The Ethics Committee has two areas of activity: The first is advising researchers at the University of Passau on ethical aspects of research, i.e. when a research project involves actual or potential risks to human dignity, life, health, freedom, property, animals, the environment or peaceful coexistence.
The second area is advice on security-relevant aspects of research. According to the guidelines of the University Research Ethics Committee of the University of Passau, research is deemed to be security-relevant particularly if it relates to objects and technologies that are connected to the development of weapons or if there is an immediate risk of misuse with regard to the object of research (“dual use research of concern”). “At the University of Passau, however, we have so far only received applications in the first field of activity, i.e. for advice and evaluation of ethical aspects”, says Mayr.
“Even if these principles seem very obvious – after all, who would want to harm the study participants or force them to take part? – it's nevertheless often the case that the procedure can be improved from an ethical point of view.”
Professor Susanne Mayr, chairwoman of the Ethics Committee
Processing of applications
At the core of the application is an application guide provided by the Ethics Committee, in which information must be provided on the various ethically relevant aspects of the research project. Two ethical principles that should be taken into account in a research project are central to the assessment of research projects in which people are involved, e.g. as study participants: participants' self-determination and the avoidance of harm or damage. Self-determination, explains Mayr, means “that the participants have a right to be fully informed about the purpose of the study and the conditions of participation, so that they can then decide freely and without coercion whether they wish to participate at all; in other words, informed consent.” As for the second principle – avoidance of harm or damage – any study in which the participants are harmed, whether physically, mentally or in any other way, requires extremely close ethical scrutiny. “Even if these principles seem very obvious – after all, who would want to harm the study participants or force them to take part? – it's nevertheless often the case that the procedure can be improved from an ethical point of view.”
Professor Susanne Mayr
How does being connected online affect us as humans?
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Professor Susanne Mayr has held the Chair of Psychology and Human–Machine Interaction of the Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences since 2015.
Rising demand
In recent years, the Ethics Committee has seen a significant increase in the number of applications, although the overall number, according to Mayr, is not very high yet. One primary driver for this increase in ethics applications is the fact that ethical assessments are increasingly required by third-party funding providers and scientific journals. Many funding providers require researchers to obtain ethical approval when making research proposals. Similarly, before considering manuscripts, many journals request official confirmation that the underlying research projects were deemed ethically justified by an ethics committee before they were carried out.
“The ethics committee then assesses the extent to which the planned treatment of the participants adheres to ethical standards”
Professor Susanne Mayr, chairwoman of the Ethics Committee
Frequent topics
At the University of Passau, ethics applications have until now only been submitted for research projects involving human subjects, e.g. as study participants. “The ethics committee then assesses the extent to which the planned treatment of the participants adheres to ethical standards”, says Mayr.
Raising awareness for ethical considerations
The Ethics Committee also endeavours to make all members of the university more sensitive to ethical aspects of research, for instance through the lecture series Forschung & Ethik, in which experts are invited to give talks on research and ethics throughout the academic year. These events are advertised through the usual communication channels and are aimed at all members of the university who are actively engaged in research.
This article is from the Campus Magazine (01/2024)
Members of the Ethics Committee of the University of Passau
- From the Faculty of Law: Professor Sebastian Martens and Professor Tristan Barczak
- From the Faculty of Business, Economics and Information Systems: Professor Jin Gerlach and Professor Oliver Entrop
- From the Faculty of Humanities and Cultural Studies: Professor Karoline Reinhardt and Professor Natascha Adamowsky
- From the Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences: Professor Susanne Mayr (chair) and Professor Hannah Schmid-Petri
- From the Faculty of Computer Science and Mathematics: Professor Brigitte Forster-Heinlein (deputy chair) and Professor Martin Kreuzer
Ten universities from nine nations are currently pursuing a common goal: as part of a European University Network (EUN) entitled "REform: Responsible Innovation & Transformation for Europe - a new transformative European University Alliance", a network for teaching, research and transfer is to be created that takes ethical aspects into account (Interview on the topic). Researchers from Passau will contribute expertise on questions of responsible innovation and ethics across disciplines and faculties. To the topic page.
