The mission of the Research Ethics Panel FF UP is to safeguard the dignity, freedoms, health, quality of life, and safety of all individuals participating in research conducted at FF UP. An additional important goal is to foster and disseminate sound practices and proven methodologies in drafting research project proposals and to contribute to the overall improvement of proposal quality.
Employees and students of doctoral study programs of FF UP are recommended to submit their research project for assessment by the Ethics Panel in the following cases:
- if required by legislation or a binding international agreement (biomedicine, use of biomedical procedures);
- if approval by the Ethics Panel is required by the provider of a grant or other support;
- if approval by the Ethics Panel is required by an academic journal, or if approval by the Ethics Panel is a requirement for publication in a certain academic journal of the submitter's choosing;
- for research carried out on vulnerable individuals or groups;
- for research aimed at processing the following personal data of the identified or identifiable persons;
- for research using cover stories or other ethically questionable research methods.
The Research Ethics Panel does not address Bachelor’s or Master’s theses. In the case of dissertations, the Panel will consider accepting a request to review the ethical aspects of the research, based on the supervisor’s recommendation in the situations outlined above.
If the project has already been favorably reviewed by another ethics committee, the principal investigator from FF UP need only inform the Ethics Panel by submitting the completed application and attaching the approval granted by that committee. The Ethics Panel will merely acknowledge this submission and will not issue any further statement on the application.
Under no circumstances does the Panel review projects that are already underway, i.e., projects in which data collection has already commenced.
Members of the Panel for 2024–2027:
- PhDr. Ondřej Bláha, Ph.D.
- Mgr. Filip Hlavinka, Ph.D.
- PhDr. Marek Kolařík, Ph.D.
- doc. PhDr. Lenka Křupková, Ph.D.
- PhDr. Olga Pechová, Ph.D. (chair)
- doc. PhDr. Daniel Topinka, Ph.D.
- Mgr. Elizabeth Allyn Woock, Ph.D.
Recommendations for Preparing the Application
The applicant must submit the request for project review using the designated form In every case, detailed and relevant information enabling an assessment of the project’s ethical aspects must be attached to the form. If it is relevant to the project, the text of the informed consent form is a mandatory attachment. If the project is a doctoral dissertation, the supervisor’s approval must be included as part of the application for review.
If the applicant follows a specific (discipline-specific) code of ethics, this should be stated along with a reference to the text of the code.
The application should be submitted sufficiently in advance to ensure that the 60-day processing period does not jeopardize the project’s submission deadline.
The panel typically convenes on the first Thursday of each month.
PhDr. Olga Pechová, Ph.D. - Chair of the Panel (primary contact)
e-mail: olga.pechova@upol.cz
Mgr. Tomáš Holešovský – administrative support of the Panel
e-mail: tomas.holesovsky@upol.cz
doc. Mgr. Jan Stejskal M.A., Ph.D.
Mgr. Ondřej Molnár, Ph.D.
Vice-Dean for External Relations
Vice-Dean for Foreign Affairs
Vice-Dean for Study Matters
Vice-Dean for Science
Vice-Dean for Organization and Development 
Vice-Dean for Digitalization and Infrastructure
Vice-Dean for Accreditation and Doctoral Studies
Ing. Andrea Wagnerová