Review Board Social Sciences and Economics and Management

Head of the Board:

Florian Morath

Board Members:

Dominik Duell

Kathrin Figl

Anita Gantner

Oliver Koll

Yana Litovsky

Heiner Schumacher

Mathias Streicher

Please send your application to the Head of the Review Board (florian.morath@uibk.ac.at).

With your application, please always include the following two documents:

• The application form which can be downloaded from the Advisory Board for Ethical Issues in Scientific Research (form can be found in blue “Application” box)
• The following checklist which determines whether your project qualifies for the fast-track procedure for standard (laboratory) experiments: Download checklist

When in doubt, select “Don’t know” in the checklist and provide a thorough description of all relevant aspects in the application form.

If your project does not qualify for the fast-track procedure, this does not necessarily indicate substantial ethical concerns; it simply means the project does not qualify for exempt status and will undergo the standard review process. In this case, you must provide a detailed account of its ethical dimensions in your application. In particular, address the following:

• Who are the study participants, and how are they recruited (if at all)?
• What information is disclosed to participants at each stage of the project?
• Do you ensure that participants’ identities remain anonymous? If yes, how is anonymity maintained? If not, why not?
• What experimental treatments or conditions are included (if any)?
• Will there be a debriefing? If not, why?
• What data are collected, and how will these data be analyzed?
• Will you link data from different sources? If yes, how?
• Who will have access to the data?
• Will the data by be anonymized? If so, at what stage? If not, why not?
• What potential risks could participants face?
• Might participants incur costs for which they are not compensated?
• Are there potential conflicts of interest arising from interactions between the researchers and participants?

These questions are intended to guide the identification and discussion of potential ethical issues. Some may not apply to your project, and there may be additional ethical considerations not covered here. If so, describe them thoroughly.

To facilitate the review process, please consider the following:

• Ensure that your application is accessible to readers outside your field of research. Present the relevant aspects concisely. If you include appendices with supplementary materials (e.g., questionnaires, interview guides), ensure that the main application is self-contained and provides a clear summary of the key elements.
• If you’re still gaining experience with these applications, please request feedback from your (PhD) advisor or from more experienced co-authors before submitting.
• Allow sufficient time for evaluation. Responses are typically issued within four weeks, but timelines may be longer during holiday periods or for complex projects with multiple ethical considerations. Plan your project timeline accordingly.
• Prepare the application in English and submit all documents as PDF files.

We reserve the right to return, without review, any application that does not meet these requirements.

The IRB complies with the requirements of the European Commission Ethics in Social Science and Humanities – see website Board for Ethical Issues at the University of Innsbruck.

For questions to the Review Board Social Sciences and Economics and Management please contact Florian Morath.

For questions to the Advisory Board for Ethical Issues in Scientific Research please contact  Robert Rebitsch.