Good research ethics must be followed in scientific research. This is a requirement of both the University of Turku and major research funders, such as the Research Council of Finland. The Finnish National Board on Research Integrity (TENK) provides guidelines for good research integrity. The data management plan is part of the ethical assessment of research.
The principles and practices of research ethics are described on the Research Ethics at the University of Turku webpage.
In medical research, the law always requires ethical pre-evaluation. The ethical committee of the Wellbeing services county of Southwest Finland provides opinions on medical research. Researchers from the University of Turku and the wellbeing services county of Southwest Finland can request personal and free assistance from the Turku Clinical Research Center to determine whether the research is medical. The Medical Research Act defines the studies that must be handled by an ethical committee. Additionally, the committee has tasks related to opinions as per the Biobank Act and the Medical Use of Human Organs, Tissues and Cells Act.
In health science research, good scientific practice must be followed. Since health science research involves humans, internationally accepted ethical guidelines regarding research involving humans must be adhered to. The Turku Clinical Research Center has compiled information on national legislation and regulatory guidance concerning health science research on its website: Turku CRC.
The law on the secondary use of social and health data (known as the Secondary Use Act 552/2019) regulates the use of patient data collected for treatment purposes in research. More on the topic: Ministry of Social Affairs and Health
Links to national ethical committees and industry working groups:
Research in the humanities and social sciences may also require ethical pre-evaluation. Pre-evaluation is necessary, for example, when the research involves intervening in the physical integrity of the subjects or when the principle of informed consent is deviated from in the research participation. Finnish National Board on Research Integrity (TENK) has published guidelines for Ethical review in human sciences.
If you are using genetic resources of organisms (excluding humans) in your research or development work, you may need to comply with the guidance of the Nagoya Protocol. For more information on the Nagoya Protocol and the obligations it imposes on research related to genetic resources, please refer to the Intranet page of legal services: Permits Under the Nagoya Protocol. Additional information on legislation related to the use of genetic resources can be found on the Environment.fi website.
