The ethics committee is responsible for ethical issues of research projects as a review body. Before the research project begins, they check whether it meets the requirements of research ethics, including the provisions of the Declaration of Helsinki.
The ethics committee assesses research projects on or with human beings with regard to the question of whether the research may impair the physical or psychological integrity, the right to privacy, other subjective rights or overriding interests of test subjects.
In the case of research projects in which animals are used in a manner that goes beyond mere observation, the ethics committee shall also examine whether the safety and welfare of the animals and compliance with the requirements of animal protection law are adequately ensured.
The ethics committee is not responsible for ensuring compliance with ethics rules in students’ practical work, unless this is the research content of a research project.
Ensuring good scientific practice
The Ethics Committee is responsible for ensuring good scientific practice.
In safeguarding good scientific practice, Sigmund Freud University follows the guidelines of the Austrian Agency for Scientific Integrity (OeAWI – www.oeawi.at ) in the current version 2019 (pdf).
The Austrian Private Universities Conference (ÖPUK) is an associate member of the Austrian Agency for Academic Integrity.
An ombudsperson for good scientific practice is established by the Senate. The ombudsperson can be contacted confidentially, they are released from any obligation to report perceptions of a breach of good scientific practice. However, they are obliged to report to the Senate.
Website of the SFU Ethics Committee (Vienna)