Research Ethics

All research carried out under the auspices of the Trinity College Dublin will be

“conducted ethically and with integrity, and shall be founded upon the principles of honesty, reliability, objectivity, impartiality, independence, fairness, respect, accountability, open communication, compliance with duties of care, and responsibility for future generations of researchers. (IUA 2019: 8)”.

Furthermore, academic journals and research funders are increasingly requiring that research is reviewed and approved by the relevant research ethics committee (REC) and that evidence of this be provided.

The first step is determining whether your research requires ethical approval from the appropriate research ethics committee (REC). Projects involving humans and/or their data  require ethical approval, unless they have the following characteristics:

• Research utilising information contained in publicly available judgments and decisions of courts and other recognised adjudicatory and enforcement bodies.
• Research utilising pre-existing datasets which were generated lawfully, and in accordance with any applicable ethical guidelines/requirements (e.g., the Declaration of Helsinki).
• Archival research utilising information contained in public repositories, that is in accordance with the applicable terms of use or access.

If ethics approval is required, the process to follow depends on your are a Faculty/PhD student or an Undergraduate or MSc Student.

• Faculty and PhD Students: REAMS

Applications from Faculty and PhD students are now processed through the Research Ethics Application Management system (REAMS).  (Please note that all academic staff and research students are automatically registered to use REAMS).

REAMS can be accessed here. Further guidance on how to log in to REAMS is available here:REAMs- How to login- TCD

• Undergraduate and MSc Students

Undergraduate and Postgraduate students at Masters level must speak to their supervisors/module leaders for guidance on the existing systems that are in place outside of the REAMS system.

Any queries can be directed to TBS.Research@tcd.ie. 

Please consult the TCD Good Research Practice Guide for detailed discussion of good research practice and the role of research ethics.

Schedule for Trinity Business School Research Ethics Committee Meetings

Date of next meeting: Faculty and PhD student submissions through REAMS before the deadlines listed below for review at the corresponding Committee meeting