

Questionable publishing practice? Are you harmed?
Antony Ley (Information Policy Officer at Griffith University) & Gary Allen When considering whether a journal publisher is legitimate, researchers

Pondering on whether to submit your research output to a journal?
The significance of how we talk and think about the pachyderm elephant mammoth in the room. Dr Gary Allen AHRECS

The F-word, or how to fight fires in the research literature
Professor Jennifer Byrne | University of Sydney Medical School and Children’s Hospital at Westmead At home, I am constantly
Research Ethics Review as a Box-Ticking Exercise
Associate Professor Angela Romano | Faculty Research Ethics Adviser, Creative Industries Faculty, Queensland University of Technology My role as
We respect you… we just don’t need to hear from you anymore: Should the consumer and their community participate in research as partners instead of just being subjects?
By Dr Gary Allen| Senior Policy Officer, Office for Research Griffith University | Ambassador Council the Hopkins Centre| Ambassador MS

Release of the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research 2007 (updated 2018) – With interview
The revised National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research 2007 (updated 2018) was released on 9 July 2018. .
The complex art of benefit-sharing
In community-based participatory action programs (programs which have a research component but which are also focussed on community development and
Vigilance versus vigilantism in science: Are ethics no longer important?
Michael James PhD, Senior Researcher, Rheumatology Unit, Royal Adelaide Hospital Les Cleland AM MBBS MD FRACP, Head of Rheumatology (1982-2015),
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Featured posts

Unnatural justice: Public allegations could cause significant harm to vital clinical trial activity
In this thought-provoking post, Nik Zeps (a consultant with AHRECS and a partner at Chrysalis) discusses the serious harm (in terms of reputation and career, as well as lost useful lines of inquiry) when there are complaints that allege ethical problems with clinical research.
These relate to situations where the clinical research is evaluating different kinds of intervention, where the evidence for the ‘accepted’ treatment might not be clear.
A misunderstanding of such research designs and a visceral reaction to apparent breaches aren’t helpful.
When such allegations are made, the researchers are rarely afforded an opportunity to respond and explain. If they were, one assumes that the manner could be easily cleared up.
We are embarrassed to admit in our own reporting of the cited case we really didn’t grasp the realities of what occurred or called out the very emotive reaction.

An ethics argument for data sharing
In this post, Gary Allen and Nik Zeps explore the human research ethics arguments and imperatives that only allow for the sharing of data, but establish a public good that can make sharing expected and essential.
This expectation should shape the approach to consent, the framing of assurances given to potential participants about confidentiality and e reflected in the application for research ethics review.
Research ethics committees and review bodies should be cognisant of these ethical arguments during the research ethics review of projects
Institutions must have clear policies and guidance material on data sharing.

Why university research ethics committees are vital
In this post Daniel Sokol writes about a troubling research integrity/human research ethics case that relates to Poland, the UK and Australia.
Daniel SokolÂ
When I sat on the Ministry of Defence’s Research Ethics Committee, some research projects were potentially dangerous. The risks of testing a new piece of military diving equipment, for example, are obvious. If it malfunctions, the volunteer could drown or suffer brain damage. The risks of historical research can be more subtle but they are nonetheless real, as shown by a recent case involving the University of Warwick.
Dr Anna Hájková, an associate professor of modern continental European history, researches the queer history of the Holocaust. She claimed that a Jewish prisoner may have engaged in a lesbian sexual relationship with a Nazi guard in Hamburg in 1944.
After the war, the prisoner worked as an actress and emigrated from…
Use of Imported Human Biospecimens in Research
The use of biospecimens in research is a vital tool in the development of