General Purpose:

The Ethics Committee of the DevOps+ Research Laboratory (ECDRL) is dedicated to fostering ethical practices in research, teaching, and other associated activities, with a focus on addressing general ethical concerns related to investigations involving human subjects. The ECDRL provides unbiased guidance to both participants and researchers, drawing upon established ethical principles and actively monitoring and supervising relevant activities from an ethical standpoint.

In its role, the ECDRL assesses studies submitted for ethical review, with a commitment to safeguarding the rights, dignity, safety, and well-being of all actual and potential participants.

For matters of specific concern or those potentially impacting the University significantly, the Committee engages in consultations with pertinent University Officers, ensuring a comprehensive approach, particularly with regard to resource considerations.

Terms of reference:

  1. To establish standards, propose, and review policies, procedures, and practices governing the ethical conduct of research across the laboratory, including the delegation of responsibilities to research groups, and to facilitate the ethical review process.
  2. To communicate the outcomes of ethical reviews to research groups, manage the documentation filing for ethical reviews, and issue ethical review opinions.
  3. To address and coordinate resolutions for disputes, objections, and appeals arising from the ethical review process.
  4. To follow up and review the projects that have passed the ethical review in the field of software engineering and to give feedback to the relevant units and groups on the review opinions.
  5. To investigate instances of non-compliance with scientific and technological ethical principles, propose corrective measures to subject groups violating regulations, and, if necessary, terminate their research activities.
  6. To receive pertinent reports from Departmental/School Research Ethics Committees.

Membership Requirements:

The ECDRL shall be composed of four members who are tenured or continuing members of the General Faculty to serve staggered three-year terms from nominations by other members of the General Faculty. The Committee may, in consideration of individual cases or issues, expand itself by no more than three additional General Faculty members having expertise in the subject matter of the case(s) being investigated.

Frequency of Meetings:

Not less than four occasions each calendar year. Committee business may be considered by correspondence and in order to make written resolutions where there is an urgent need to do so.

Committee Chair:

He Zhang

Professor

Software Institute, Nanjing University

Committee Chair

hezhang@nju.edu.cn

Membership List:

Dong Shao

Associate Professor; Deputy Head of Institute

Software Institute, Nanjing University

dongshao@nju.edu.cn

Hongyu Kuang

Research Associate

Software Institute, Nanjing University

khy@nju.edu.cn

Xin Zhou

Research Associate

Software Institute, Nanjing University

zhouxin@nju.edu.cn