New report: Risk and Uncerteinty

03.11.2009

What are risks and uncertainty in a research ethical context? NENT publishes a clarification of the terms.

Saw the need for guidelines

After the National Committee for Research Ethics in Science and Technology (NENT) had developed research ethics guidelines for their field of research, the committee identified the need for further clarification of the terms relating to sections 10 and 11 in the guidelines that deal with scientific uncertainty and the application of the precautionary principle. The purpose was to give more substance to the terms in the two sections. There has been much research regarding scientific uncertainty these recent years and NENT wanted to convey this. Therefore NENT appointed Roger Strand and Deborah Oughton, two committee members, to write an analysis, with input from the rest of the committee.
 

Discussion Initiatives

- We hope this analysis can contribute to the debate and act as an invitation to the research community to draw their own conclusions about these concepts, " Matthias Kaiser, Head of Secretariat in NENT, says. How scientists want to implement the concepts in their research is up to them. This report is not the definitive answer, but a guide.

To read the report enter here (pdf), send an e-mail to post@etikkom.no to receive a free copy, or call (+47) 23 31 83 00.