Dealing With Ethical Aspects In Student Research Projects - Results Of A Survey Of Health Sciences Faculties In Germany

Introduction Research projects in the health sciences often involve ethically sensitive areas. The rise in the number of empirically oriented theses and concepts such as research-based learning has led to an increasing need for ethics approvals also for student research projects. There is no standardised procedure for dealing with student research projects in Germany. This can lead to research projects being carried out without an ethics approval, even though this might have been necessary. This study aims to investigate how different universities deal with ethical aspects in students' research. In addition, we present examples of existing approaches.Methods An online-based questionnaire was sent to 132 departments offering degree programmes in public health, health and nursing science, and psychology at 112 universities. Addi-tionally, telephone interviews were conducted with the coordinators of four such degree programmes.Results Coordinators of 55 such degree programmes participated in the survey; 84 % of the participating of these offered support to students with ethical questions concerning their research. However, only 39 % provided a structured procedure for dealing with ethical assessments of research projects led by students. Several approaches were presented in depth by the coordinators of four degree programmes, among them the use of checklists, the establishment of internal ethics committees, and ethics advisory services. All respondents agreed on a need to deal with ethics approvals related to students' research projects.Conclusion Structured procedures exist at some but not all degree programmes, faculties, and universities. Some of these procedures can serve as models for other universities.