OzU Human Research Ethics Committee Application Principles

Researchers Required to Submit an Application

Research involving human participants refers to studies that include direct interaction with individuals or involve collecting data from them. Such research includes, but is not limited to, the following:

1. Survey Studies: Questionnaires conducted to measure people’s opinions, attitudes, or behaviors on a specific topic.
2. Interviews: In-depth interviews conducted face-to-face or online with individuals.
3. Experimental Studies: Experiments conducted with human participants to test a specific hypothesis.
4. Observational Studies: Research in which human behavior is systematically observed and recorded.
5. Case Studies: Studies in which individuals, groups, or communities are examined and analyzed in depth.

The reason these types of studies require ethical approval is to protect participants’ rights, safety, well-being, and privacy, and to ensure compliance with ethical standards. Ethical approval must be obtained from the OzU HREC for any study involving human participants, taking into account the potential risks and ethical issues. In addition, if any changes are made to the methodology or objectives of a previously approved study, a new application must be submitted.

Note: Researchers who are not affiliated with Özyeğin University and intend to collect research data from the University’s students or employees must first obtain the opinion of the OzU HREC and may then submit an application for permission to the Vice Rectorship responsible for research.

Cases in Which an OzU HREC Application Is Not Accepted

1. Retrospective OzU HREC approval cannot be granted for studies that have already been completed.
2. Applications will not be accepted if the research team does not include at least one researcher with an institutional affiliation to Özyeğin University.

Researchers Not Required to Submit an Application

1. Previously Approved Studies with No Changes:
   If researchers have already obtained approval from another university’s Institutional Review Board for Human Research and have made no changes to the research within the scope of that approval, they are not required to apply to the ÖZÜ HREC.
2. Studies Unrelated to Human Participants:
   Research such as literature reviews, analyses of legal statutes or regulations, material testing, or theoretical modeling that does not involve direct human participation does not require an ÖZÜ HREC application.
   Note: Researchers using secondary data collected from social media do not need to apply if the secondary data come from a platform in which the researcher did not participate, intervene, or influence the creation of the data in any way.
3. Master’s and Doctoral Studies Conducted at Other Universities:
   For graduate theses conducted outside Özyeğin University, in which an Özyeğin University faculty member does not serve as the thesis advisor or co-advisor, ethical approval for human research must be obtained from the ethics committee of the university where the research is conducted.