Research ethics education needs assessment in Serbian medical researchers

Abstract

The lack of formal education in research ethics is a significant issue for the ethical conduct of research in Serbia. We conducted a cross-sectional survey on a sample of researchers and ethics committee members in Serbia to evaluate their self-assessed competence and educational needs in research ethics. Results indicated that previous ethics education had a significant effect on respondents’ perception of their own competence in addressing issues like informed consent, authorship, and publishing. Respondents expressed a high motivation for further research ethics education. Moreover, the study revealed that researchers with different specializations and different research experience have different educational needs.