Comité d’Ethique

 The Ethics Committee has two main functions:

1. Assessing the ethical nature of research projects in accordance with the guidelines set out in this document. It issues an ‘ethics committee opinion’ document on a research project after obtaining a request.
   The committee must not assess the scientific nature of the research. It does not take the place of the Director of Studies, Research or the tutor, but must formulate its opinion in terms of professional ethics.
2. Supporting young researchers, particularly students, in dealing with ethical and legal issues. The committee therefore also has an advisory role, with the aim of making the researcher aware of the ethical and legal problems that could arise during or as a result of the research.

Formation of the committee :

The Ethics Committee is elected by the General Meeting of the laboratory. It is made up of three researchers/teacher-researchers, one technical/technical assistant and one student representative.

How it works :

The committee meets as many times as necessary, but no later than 30 working days after a request for an opinion has been submitted. Decisions will only be validated if all committee members give a unanimous favourable opinion. Each committee member may ask the applicant/researcher for additional oral or written details, but must take into account the amount of additional work that this request may involve. A final decision must be taken no later than 60 working days after the application is submitted.

A majority of the Committee elects a Chairman, whose role is to convene the Committee and chair its meetings. Attendance at meetings is compulsory. If a member is unable to attend a meeting for good reason, he or she may be represented by a person who must be approved by a majority of the other members of the Committee.

Procedure for requesting and issuing an opinion

1. Any student (the applicant) undertaking a research project must obtain from the CREDO secretariat or download from the website a file requesting an opinion from the ethics committee. This file contains the committee's guidelines and an ethics form.
2. The applicant must complete the form and any attached loose sheets with the utmost care and honesty and submit the file to the CREDO secretariat. The secretariat notes on the form the date on which the file was submitted, makes as many copies of the file as there are members of the Ethics Committee, plus one copy for the CREDO archives, and distributes them as soon as possible to the committee members.
3. The Chairman will convene a meeting of the Committee after receiving and reading the application. This meeting must take place no later than 30 working days after the date on which the application was submitted. Public holidays and weekends are not counted when calculating the 30 days.
4. The ethics committee discusses the ethical nature of the project behind closed doors and formulates its reasoned and signed opinion in writing. This opinion must be passed unanimously. Additional details may be requested from the applicant. However, a final opinion must be given no later than 60 working days after the date on which the application was submitted. The opinion must be sent to the CREDO secretariat, which will draw up a copy for the CREDO archives and will hand-deliver the original to the applicant, who will sign a receipt.
5. In the event of an unfavourable opinion, the applicant may submit a new application, provided that he takes account of the committee's previous opinion and indicates on the new form that this is a second or nth application for the same research project.

The CREDO ethics committee guide :

Ethical research principles

A. Consultation, negotiation and mutual understanding
Consultation, negotiation and voluntary, informed consent are the foundations of ethical research. The researcher must recognise the contribution made by the respondents to the project and must therefore agree to give something back to the community. This return or repatriation can take various forms: copies of notebooks and photographs, copies of books or offprints, etc.

During the consultation and negotiation process, the researcher must identify and involve the people and any local, regional or national organisations and institutions that should be consulted.

Negotiation and consultation with the people or communities surveyed and the organisations mentioned above are ongoing processes. These negotiations must lead to an informed and mutual understanding of the research objectives.

B. Respect and participation
Local knowledge systems and emic processes relating to the production of knowledge must be respected. Researchers must respect cultural and intellectual property rights.

The researcher must recognise the diversity of cultural and individual forms of knowledge systems. The researcher accepts the participation and respects the opinion of indigenous researchers in his/her project. This participation and respect need not necessarily result in scientific consensus, but must demonstrate that indigenous opinions are taken into account and respected in the research and its results. Respondents have the right to be involved in a research project that concerns them.

C. Benefits, results and agreements
The use of and access to research results must be clearly defined. Respondents' expectations regarding the results of the research must be taken into account during negotiations and in the agreement.

The community surveyed must be able to benefit from the results of the research in the short, medium or long term, and must in no way be disadvantaged by these results. In fact, the results of the research must be presented to the community surveyed in a form that is both intellectually and materially accessible.

As far as possible, negotiation and consultation should result in a formal agreement, in writing if possible, describing the principles, methods and objectives of a research project.