At Al-Ayen Iraqi University, ethical approval is fundamental to conducting responsible, high-quality academic research. It safeguards the dignity, rights, and welfare of participants and ensures that research is conducted with integrity, transparency, and accountability.

All researchers including undergraduate and postgraduate students, faculty members, and external collaborators are required to apply for ethical review before starting any data collection.

1. When is Ethical Approval Required?

Ethical review is required when your research involves any of the following:

• Collection or use of personal or sensitive data (e.g. medical, political, biometric)
• Involving human participants, including interviews, surveys, or observations
• Working with vulnerable populations (e.g. children, elderly, people with disabilities)
• Using photographs, audio, or video recordings
• Physical, psychological, or social risks to participants
• Deception or withholding of full consent
• Use of secondary data not originally intended for your research purpose
• Topics considered socially sensitive or ethically controversial

2. What Does Not Require Formal Approval?

Some activities may not require formal review, provided specific criteria are met:

• Service evaluations, teaching evaluations, or anonymous course feedback
• Market research without identifiable or sensitive data
• Interviews within professional boundaries, where data is anonymized and non-sensitive
• Secondary data analysis where:
• Data is fully anonymized
• Explicit permission from the data controller is available
• The research aligns with the original purpose of the data collection
• 
  

3. Types of Ethical Review

Depending on the level of risk, your application will follow one of the following routes:

| Review Type                               | Applicable Projects                          |

| --------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ |

| Department Review                                         | Low-risk undergraduate student research      |

| Proportionate Ethics Committee Review    | Low-risk staff or postgraduate research      |

| Full Ethics Committee Review                       | High-risk or sensitive projects              |

| External Ethics Approval                                 | Studies involving clinical or hospital data  |

| Dual Approval (Al-Ayen Iraqi University + External)    | Complex or multi-site health-related studies |

4. Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Researchers often face delays in approval due to:

• Missing consent forms or participant information sheets
• Poorly defined methodology or unclear objectives
• Failure to explain data storage and privacy measures
• Lack of supervisor signature or endorsement
• Unclear description of software/tools used in data collection
• Not disclosing use of video/audio platforms or secure data handling
• Ethical approval is not just a formality it reflects your responsibility as a researcher.

5. Resources and Support

We are committed to supporting ethical and impactful research. Here's how we help:

• Application Checklists.......... To ensure no required documents are missed
• Workshops & Training.......... Ethical research, data protection, and consent practices
• Template Library.......... Sample proposals, consent forms, data plans
• Supervisor Guidelines.......... For mentoring ethical student research
• Case Studies.......... Examples of approved applications for reference

Apply for Ethical Approval Now

Researchers affiliated with Al-Ayen Iraqi University can apply via the official form:

https://forms.gle/mia466BQ6ofPfq8z5

Contact Us

If you have questions about the process, application requirements, or need help deciding the review route:

Research Ethics Committee  Al-Ayen Iraqi University