1. What kinds of consultations are available?
In general, a Research Ethics Consultation Service (RECS) consultation may be requested for any ethical concern that arises during the research process. This includes ethical aspects of study design, such as aspects of informed consent, research protocols with subjects from vulnerable populations or requiring surrogate decision-making, invasive or deceptive research procedures or novel research methods, community-based research questions, or social/policy issues beyond the particular research design.
2. What issues are not appropriate for a RECS consultation?
Consultations regarding questions of law, regulation or institutional policy will generally be referred to the appropriate UM organization. Consultations regarding statistical appropriateness or other purely technical aspects of design will also be referred.
3. What kinds of information will a RECS consult provide?
On analogy with clinical ethics standards, consultations are in all cases advisory, and will generally consist in recommendations of one or more courses of action as well as contact information for other organizations at UM with research oversight responsibilities. Persons requesting consults retain responsibility for their own decisions.
4. Who can request a RECS consultation?
Anyone involved in the conduct of UM research, including faculty, staff, post-doctoral researchers, graduate or undergraduate students may request a consultation.
5. What is the cost of a RECS consultation?
Consultations are without charge to anyone affiliated with UM or with a UM research protocol.
6. Are RECS consultations confidential?
It depends on the situation. RECS team members will do their best to honor requests to keep confidential the information provided during a consultation. However, confidentiality is not possible where the fact set presents a duty to report due to a law, regulation or UM policy.
7. How do I request a RECS consultation?
Contact the Ethics Programs at 305-243-5723 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). A member of the RECS team will contact you within two business days. If your matter is urgent, and needs a faster response, please so indicate when making the request. If it is an emergency, contact the UM call center at 305-243-2222 and request that “Ethics Consult” be paged.