The submission of ethics review applications by the Ethics Committee is open now.

Research involving human participants, animals, or identifiable biological material or data must always be conducted in accordance with generally applicable legal regulations and must be approved by the relevant ethics committees or institutions. Given the primary focus of Charles University, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport (CU Sport), the CU Sport Ethics Committee issues independent statements on the ethical acceptability of research involving, in particular, human participants.

This requirement also applies to credit papers, bachelor’s theses, master’s theses, rigorous theses, dissertations, and other qualification papers, if they fall under the categories mentioned above. A positive review from the Ethics Committee of Charles University, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, is a prerequisite for commencing data collection.

If the research involves human participants, animals, identifiable biological material, or identifiable personal data, the original statement from the CU Sport Ethics Committee is an integral part of the qualification theses and must be attached to the thesis as a mandatory appendix, including documents approved by the Ethics Committee—the information sheet for research participants and the informed consent form (without listing the first and last names of research participants).

When conducting research abroad, local laws and ethical standards must be respected. Therefore, it is recommended to contact the ethics committee or another authorized institution in the country where the research is being conducted. The CU Sport Ethics Committee does not issue statements regarding such research.

Projects listed in the section RESEARCH APPROVED BY THE THESIS SUPERVISOR WITHOUT THE NEED FOR AN EC REVIEW are not submitted to the CU Sport Ethics Committee for ethics review.

PROCEDURE FOR SUBMITTING AN APPLICATION FOR ETHICS REVIEW FROM THE CU SPORT ETHICS COMMITTEE

The application for a review from the Ethics Committee of Charles Univesity, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport (hereinafter referred to as the “Application”) must be properly completed and submitted to the Ethics Committee prior to the planned data collection, preferably at least three months in advance. Data collection must be preceded by the Ethics Committee’s approval of the application.

The application must be submitted on the prescribed form.

It must include basic information about the research project, including its objectives, a brief description of the methods used, and a description of the research sample.

The completed Application Form, along with the Research Participant Information Sheet and the Research Participant Informed Consent Form

Please submit electronically in a Word document format to the following email address: etickakomise@ftvs.cuni.cz.

Research Participant Information Sheet

serves to fulfill the researcher’s duty to inform research participants. It contains clear and complete information, particularly regarding the purpose and objectives of the research, the course and methods of the research, the potential risks and expected benefits of participation, the voluntary nature of participation and the option to withdraw at any time without giving a reason, the handling of personal data and privacy protection, and contact information for the responsible investigator and the Ethics Committee of Charles University, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport.

The information sheet must be written clearly, comprehensibly, and in a manner appropriate to the target group of participants. A signature on the information sheet is not required.

Research Participants Informed Consent

This refers to the participant’s free, voluntary, and informed consent to participate in the research based on the information provided in the Information Sheet. Informed consent must be given without coercion, and the participant may withdraw it at any time without any negative consequences. Informed consent is generally required in written form; in justified cases (e.g., anonymous online surveys), it may take an electronic or simplified form. For minors, informed consent must be signed by a legal representative.

Amendments to the Application

If the Ethics Committee of Charles University, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport requests that the applicant amend the application or the informed consent form, the applicant shall make the corrections directly in the submitted documents and return them as a reply to the received email. The assigned reference number must always be included in the subject of the email.

Review Deadlines

Applications received by the 15th day of each calendar month (except for July and August) will be reviewed by members of the CU Sport Ethics Committee. The CU Sport Ethics Committee’s decision will be sent to the applicant electronically within one month at the latest.

If amendments to the application are necessary, the deadline for issuing the opinion may be extended. It is therefore recommended to submit applications well in advance, particularly for research conducted at non-faculty institutions and for projects that are methodologically or organizationally complex.

Administrative Finalization of the Application

Upon receipt of a positive review from the CU Sport Ethics Committee, two original copies of the application are prepared, which must be signed by the CU Sport Ethics Committee administrator (Office No. E 324, Department of Biomedicine Applied in Kinanthropology) prior to the commencement of data collection. The signed documents are archived at the CU Sport Ethics Committee administrator until the applicant submits the signed originals of the information sheets (if a signature is required) and informed consent forms from all research participants. The second original copy of the application and the informed consent forms are then stored in a secure location in the CU Sport Ethics Committee archive.

Changes to the Approved Project

If changes are made to the research project, methods, or intervention procedures after the CU Sport Ethics Committee has issued its review, the applicant is required to revise the application. The applicant must resubmit the revised application to the CU Sport Ethics Committee, indicating the original reference number in the subject of the email.

RESEARCH PROJECTS APPROVED BY THE THESIS SUPERVISOR WITHOUT THE NEED FOR AN ETHICS REVIEW FROM THE CU SPORT ETHICS COMMITTEE

In these projects, the supervisor is responsible for the ethical aspects of the research.

ONLINE QUESTIONNAIRES AND SURVEYS

Interviews

Bachelor's Theses in Physical Therapy at Charles University, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport (Case Studies of Physical Therapy, Orthotic, and Prosthetic Care for Patients at a Contracted Clinical Facility)

When a thesis is approved by the advisor, the following statement must be entered in the “Ethical Aspects of Research” field when a new bachelor’s or master’s thesis is registered in SIS: "The thesis advisor will provide input on the research from an ethical viewpoint based on documents issued by the Ethics Committee of Charles University, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport."

Please send any questions to: etickakomise@ftvs.cuni.cz