When is Ethics Committee approval required? Frequently asked questions about ethical rules—such as whether ethics committee approval is necessary for a previously conducted study—and the relevant information provided by Ulakbim TR Index are summarized below. You can determine whether your study requires ethics committee approval by reviewing the following guidelines.

Question: Is ethics committee approval required for all articles?
• No. The criteria below specify which types of studies require ethics committee approval.

Ethics committee approval is required for the following types of research:
• Studies employing qualitative or quantitative methods that involve data collection from participants through surveys, interviews, focus groups, observations, experiments, or similar techniques.
• Research involving humans or animals (including their materials or data) for experimental or other scientific purposes.
• Clinical research involving human participants.
• Research conducted on animals.
• Retrospective studies, when required by the Personal Data Protection Law.

In addition:
• It should be indicated that informed consent was obtained in case reports.
• Permission must be obtained from the owners for the use of scales, questionnaires, or photographs belonging to others, and this should be stated in the article.
• Compliance with copyright regulations must be ensured for the ideas and artistic works used.

Question: Do TR Index rules restrict publications conducted outside universities?
• No. Researchers who are not affiliated with a university can also apply to ethics committees in their regions.

SDU-JS adopts the publication ethics and best practice guidelines of COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics). For more detailed information, please visit COPE’s official website

Please contact the editorial office for further information. 

mail: sbedergi@sdu.edu.tr