UGC NET Questions (Paper – 1)

Ethics committees are established to review research proposals for compliance with ethical standards related to human and animal welfare, informed consent and risk management. They ensure that research respects dignity, rights and safety. The stem points to committees that examine ethical aspects of research, which are correctly called ethics committees. Therefore, Option D is the right answer.

Option A:
Finance committees oversee budgeting and resource allocation and do not focus on consent, risk, or moral justification in research. Thus, Option A is incorrect.

Option B:
Sports committees manage sporting events and facilities and have no mandate to review research ethics. Hence, Option B is incorrect.

Option C:
Discipline committees deal with misconduct and disciplinary issues and are different from specialised oversight of research protocols involving humans/animals. Therefore, Option C is incorrect.

Option D:
Option D is correct because ethics committees specifically review research protocols to protect participants/animals, ensure informed consent, manage risks, and comply with ethical guidelines.

An ethics committee, often known as an institutional review board, examines research proposals to ensure that risks to participants are minimised and justified. It checks for adequate informed consent, confidentiality protections and fair selection of subjects. Approval from this committee is usually required before data collection begins. Hence, the committee described in the stem is correctly called the ethics committee.

Option A:
A sampling committee is not a standard term in research governance; sampling decisions are usually made by the research team. It has no recognised role in protecting participant rights at an institutional level. Therefore, this option is not suitable.

Option B:
Option B, ethics committee, focuses specifically on ethical issues such as risk–benefit balance, vulnerable groups and privacy. It may require modifications to the protocol to improve participant protection. Because the stem emphasises rights, safety and well-being, this option is correct.

Option C:
A steering committee may oversee the overall direction of a large project, including budgets and timelines, but is not primarily responsible for detailed ethical review. So it does not match the description in the question.

Option D:
An editorial committee deals with publication decisions for journals or books, evaluating quality and originality rather than ethics of data collection. Hence, it is not the correct label here.

Statements A, B, D and E correctly express key ethical principles: ethics committees protect participants, informed consent demands adequate information, participants must have the right to withdraw and vulnerable groups require special safeguards. Statement C is false because coercing participation violates autonomy and ethical guidelines, regardless of concerns about bias. Thus, the combination that includes A, B, D and E and excludes C is correct.

Option A:
Option A is incomplete because it omits E, failing to acknowledge the particular responsibilities involved in working with vulnerable populations such as children or persons with disabilities.

Option B:
Option B is incorrect because it leaves out A, not explicitly describing the formal role of ethics committees in reviewing and monitoring research proposals.

Option C:
Option C is incomplete as it omits B, and therefore does not clearly emphasise the need for informed consent information as part of ethical practice.

Option D:
Option D is correct because it gathers all true statements about ethical review and consent, while rejecting C, which endorses coercion. It reflects established international norms for research with human participants.

Ethics committees are constituted to scrutinise research proposals for compliance with ethical standards. They assess risks, informed consent procedures and safeguards for participants or animals. The stem describes this function of reviewing moral acceptability, so “ethics” committees is the correct term.

Option A:
Finance committees examine budgets and expenditure plans rather than consent forms or risk–benefit analyses. They do not judge ethical aspects of research, so this option is not appropriate.

Option B:
Sports committees coordinate games and physical activities and have no authority over scientific research protocols. Therefore, this option cannot complete the statement.

Option C:
Discipline committees look into misconduct cases and violations of rules, but they are not specialised bodies for prospective ethical review of research projects. Hence, this option is incorrect.

Option D:
Ethics committees focus specifically on protecting participants’ rights, welfare and dignity in research. This matches the description in the stem and confirms that this option is correct.

An institutional review board (IRB) or ethics committee is responsible for examining research proposals to ensure that risks to participants are minimised, benefits are reasonable and ethical principles such as respect, beneficence and justice are upheld. It has authority to approve, require modifications to or disapprove studies. IRBs play a crucial role in protecting vulnerable populations and maintaining public trust in research. Therefore, the committee described in the stem is correctly called an institutional review board.

Option A:
Institutional review boards are typically established within universities, hospitals or research organisations and operate under formal guidelines and regulations. They review consent procedures, safeguards for confidentiality and risk–benefit analyses before granting approval. This oversight role fits the stem’s description, so this option is correct.

Option B:
An academic review board might focus more broadly on programme quality or curriculum issues and is not specifically charged with evaluating ethical aspects of research involving human participants.

Option C:
Advisory committees provide guidance or recommendations but may lack the formal regulatory authority of an IRB to approve or reject studies based on ethical criteria.

Option D:
Evaluation boards may assess project outcomes or performance rather than pre-emptive ethical compliance, so they are not the correct term here.

Committees that examine research involving humans or animals to safeguard consent, welfare and moral standards are called ethics committees or research ethics committees. Their role is exactly what the stem describes, so “ethics” is the correct completion.

Option A:
Option A is correct because ethics committees specifically focus on evaluating risks, benefits and ethical safeguards before a study is approved, ensuring research integrity and participant protection.

Option B:
Option B is incorrect as finance committees deal with budgeting, accounts and resource allocation, not with the moral acceptability of research designs.

Option C:
Option C is wrong because sports committees oversee games and athletic activities, which is unrelated to the ethical review of research protocols.

Option D:
Option D is incorrect since discipline committees generally handle cases of misconduct or violations of codes of conduct, not the prior ethical vetting of research proposals.