Introduction: Research ethics are fundamental for protecting human participants in dental research, yet dental faculty attitudes in Saudi Arabia toward research ethics and research ethics committees (RECs) are little known. The present study aimed at assessing Saudi Arabian dental researchers’ knowledge, awareness and attitudes toward research ethics and RECs.Materials and methods: We conducted a questionnaire-based cross-sectional study with 660 dental researchers from Saudi Arabian dental colleges. The questionnaire covered demographics, knowledge of research ethics and attitudes and awareness on research ethics and RECs. Results and discussion: Approximately 91% of the participants were aware of their institutes’ RECs, almost 80% were familiar with the ethical principles of human research projects, and 66.2% were aware of RECs’ purposes. Participants aware of RECs in their institutes showed significantly better attitudes toward ethical practices in research. Conclusions: Many participants, particularly postgraduate students, general practitioners, and consultants, lacked research ethics knowledge and need to attend appropriate and effective courses/ workshops.
Keywords:- dental faculty
- postgraduate students
- research ethics
- research ethics committees (RECs)
- Saudi Arabia