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BACKGROUND The conduct of research by clinicians is vital to maintain evidence-based practice and currency of clinician knowledge. However, the ability to conduct valid research is contingent upon several factors including the knowledge of research ethics guidelines applicable within the researcher's location. AIMS To compare the actual and perceived knowledge of research ethics guidelines in a sample of health care clinicians in a public health service. METHODS A prospective cross-sectional design utilising an anonymous online survey. RESULTS Of the 432 valid responses, 8% were totally well-calibrated on perceived and actual knowledge. A further 9% were totally mis-calibrated on all items. The remaining 83% of respondents were variously mis-calibrated on 1 to 4 items. The majority of mis-calibrated responses represented overconfidence. CONCLUSIONS Clinicians are not as knowledgeable as they think about research ethics. This has implications for help-seeking behaviours within this population and highlights challenges for stakeholders in the provision of research support and education. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.