Table 2.

Example domains, subdomains and representative competencies for health research ethics education programmes

Domain	Subdomain	Example competency
Foundational knowledge of research ethics	Ethical theory and philosophy	Describe fundamental ethical theories that inform research ethics practices.
	Policies, laws and regulations	Describe relevant legal and regulatory policies that influence ethical research practice.
	Research methods	Demonstrate an understanding of common research designs. Identify research designs that are suited to answer a research question.
Ethics review	Research protocols	Systematically analyse research protocols to determine if its risks are justified by potential benefits.
	Consent	Systematically analyse consent documents to determine appropriateness.
	Community engagement	Evaluate whether plans for engaging study communities are adequate given the nature of the research and context.
	Vulnerable populations	Identify characteristics of populations that make them vulnerable to exploitation or harm. Recommend precautions that are indicated to mitigate those possibilities.
Communication and teamwork	Written communication	Clearly articulate complex ethics concepts in writing.
	Oral communication	Effectively engage in ethics deliberation.
Scholarship and pedagogy	Original research	Develop a research design for an ethics topic.
	Teaching	Prepare and deliver teaching materials that relate to core research ethics competencies.
Ethics advocacy	Ethics policy development	Critique and suggest revision to national research ethics policies.
	Raising public awareness	Engage in promotion of research ethics awareness among the public through appropriate venues (eg, mass media, social media).
Leadership and professionalism	Responsibility	Accept responsibility for judgments and recommendations related to research ethics practice.
	Lifelong learning	Engage in continuous professional development to keep research ethics knowledge and practice current.
	Disclosures and conflicts of interest	Provide appropriate disclosures and manage conflicts of interest.