Research ethics

When conducting research there are ethical considerations for researchers to be aware of, both in the role as a researcher and in the research work itself. This is what research ethics is about. Ethical dilemmas in research may arise in the intersection of research and other activities such as teaching, innovation, in dissemination of research, expert activities, subject- and institution management and engagement in other activities. Each individual researcher and PhD-student is responsible for making themselves familiar with and follow the guidelines for good research ethics in research/studies and connected activities. They shall act careful to ensure compliance that research ethical norms are followed.

The Act on ethics and integrity in research applies to researchers and research in Norway. The Act seeks to ensure that research carried out by public and private institutions is conducted in accordance with recognized ethical standards.

The Act on medical and health research applies to all medical and health research on human beings, human biological material or personal health data. Such research projects must be approved in advance by the regional committee for medical and health research ethics (approval from NSD is also required when personal data will be processed). For health research on the Sami population there are some additional ethical guidelines that must be taken into consideration (only in Norwegian).