The University of Tampere is committed to adhering to the guidelines entitled ‘Good Scientific Practice and Procedures for Handling Misconduct and Fraud in Science’ (2002) by the Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity and to other ethical guidelines in the field of the human sciences. The human sciences include all fields and disciplines which involve methodology used in social sciences or behavioural sciences.

On 5 May 2010, the Rector of the University of Tampere set up the Ethics Committee of the Tampere region. The Ethics Committee includes members from the University of Tampere, Tampere University of Technology, Tampere University of Applied Sciences, the UKK Institute and the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. The Ethics Committee provides statements to researchers working at the above-mentioned organisations.

The purpose of the Ethics Committee is to provide ethical reviews of non-medical research in the human sciences conducted at universities, higher education institutions and research institutes in the region, and to promote increasingly ethical research through its decisions and activities.

The Ethics Committee collaborates with the Regional Ethics Committee of Tampere University Hospital. These committees have divided duties between them.

Promoting ethical research and making the Ethics Committee’s work more transparent requires openness. The Ethics Committee therefore publishes the following information about every study submitted for ethical review (unless publishing this information contradicts any agreements on confidentiality):

• The applicant’s reasons for requesting an ethical review and his/her evaluation of the ethicality of the research
• The researcher’s summary of the research plan
• The Ethics Committee’s decision.