Objective
This project will investigate a still unresolved question that cuts across all areas of research involving human beings: "When should an activity count as research?" The answer to this question is important because classifying an activity as research will sometimes mean that stricter ethical and legal regulations apply but in other circumstances mean that the it becomes exempt from certain rules and regulations. It is therefore crucial that we are able to define criteria for classifying an activity as resea rch The question about the definition of research has so far mainly been discussed within biomedicine, but it occurs in a large number of research areas. It will become increasingly important as research ethics regulations are expanded to cover other areas than biomedicine, and data protection legislation is enacted and enforced. In this project we will therefore analyse case-studies from five areas: biomedicine, IT, social sciences, databases and biobanks in order to achieve the following scientific object ives: 1. An exhaustive philosophical analysis of the research concept 2. An exhaustive legal analysis of the use of the research concept in European and national legislation and regulation 3. An exhaustive analysis of the philosophical and legal problems i n defining an activity as "research" according to a) its aims, b) the intentions of those who plan and conduct it, c) the products flowing from it, d) the intended use of its results, e) the context in which it is performed, or the institutions or persons performing it, f) its impact on the persons participating, g) the views of the persons participating. 4. An account of the specific problems in applying a research / non-research distinction in the area of databases and biobanks. 5. An account of which cri teria are most suitable as the basis for the research / non-research distinction in the regulation of different scientific areas.
Fields of science
Not validated
Not validated
Call for proposal
FP6-2003-SCIENCEANDSOCIETY-4
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Funding Scheme
STREP - Specific Targeted Research ProjectCoordinator
MANCHESTER
United Kingdom