As research in the field of social and health care often has to do with so-called vulnerable groups and a variety of ethical and moral questions arise when researching practice and co-research in practice, the Department has discussed ethics and research in its committees on various occasions. It was agreed that full-time lecturers who supervise students in research projects are initially responsible for the ethical issues of applied research. They can use the "Code of Ethics of the German Sociological Association (DGS) and the Professional Association of German Sociologists (BDS)" or the "Draft Code of Ethics for Nursing Research" of the German Society for Nursing Science as a guide.

If specific research ethics issues or fundamental problems arise in certain areas of research at the Department or in ongoing research projects, the Department can convene an ad hoc ethics committee. The ethics committee can, for example, discuss and examine issues relating to the treatment of vulnerable groups in research and data protection and subject them to a research ethics review.

Questions about the Ethics Committee can be addressed to the Research Officer.