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Guide to Project Data Management

Research ethics in projects

Research ethics in thesis

Research ethics is part of data management and good scientific practice.

The main tasks of research ethics in a thesis are:
  1. Ethical review: Do you need an ethical review for your project? Check the instructions.
  2. Informing participants and obtaining consent: The participant/research subject must be informed about the study and must give his/her consent. If the project, Laurea or a research worker wishes to continue using the data or if for any other reason the data are to be opened, this must be taken into account when informing the participants.
  3. Research permit: The organisation from which the data is collected is asked for permission to conduct the research..
  4. Processing of personal data: The processing of personal data is dealt with in a separate section on Data Protection.

Informing research participants and consent to participate

Informed participation is an ethical and legal requirement for research involving human participants. Informed consent to participate in research is a central ethical principle in research with human participants. People participating in research have the right to participate voluntarily but also to refuse to participate without fear of negative consequences.

The research participant must be aware that they are participating in research, especially in situations where the researcher also has another role in relation to the participant, for example the participant’s superior or teacher.

The starting point of consent is that the person giving their consent knows and understands what they are consenting to. The research participant must be informed in a clear and understandable way of the purpose of research, its authors, possible risks or harms to research participants, voluntary participation and provision of data, data processing, confidentiality, duration of storage, disclosures and possible archiving and opening of research data.

The informed consent procedure consists of an information document and an informed consent form.

The participant in a project interview, survey, or workshop

  1. must be informed of the study and
  2. must give his/her consent to participate in the study.

If 3) further use of the data is desired, or if for any other reason the data are to be opened, this must also be taken into account when informing the participants.

You can use Laurea's templates

How will participants be informed?

Informing: Participants must be provided with a study leaflet in electronic or written form, containing information in a language they understand. You can make use of Laurea's participant information form and participant consent form where appropriate or use the templates of your organization. 

How to document the consent of participants?

The researcher may document the participant's consent verbally, in writing, electronically or by other means. The most common method is written consent. Responding to a questionnaire is interpreted as consent to the study.  Laurea has its own form for requesting consent from participants. You can make use of Laurea's participant information form and participant consent form where appropriate or use the templates of your organization. 

In practice:

In a survey, the information form can be at the beginning of the questionnaire or attached to an email. This must indicate if the data will be used further.
Personal data: Please note that if the survey collects personal data, consent to the survey does not cover the collection of such data; instead a separate consent is required.
If the survey collects personal data, the respondent's consent is required, for example by ticking the yes/no box.
 

Ethical review

Before research can be conducted, it may have to be submitted to an ethical review.

The ethical acceptability of research must always be assessed in advance if:

  1. participation in the research deviates from the principle of informed consent,
  2. the research involves intervention in the physical integrity of the research participants,
  3. the research involves minors under the age of 15 who participate without the separate consent of their guardian or without the guardian being informed, based on which the guardian would have the opportunity to forbid the child from participating,
  4. the research participants will be subjected to exceptionally strong stimuli,
  5. the research involves the risk of causing mental harm that exceeds the limits of normal daily life to the research participants or their family members or others closest to them, or
  6. the research could pose a threat to the safety of the research participants or the researchers, or their family members or others closest to them.

Sometimes the funder or publisher of the research or the organisation granting the research permit etc. may require an ethical review. In cases when the Finnish system does not require a statement, the committee may provide the requester with a description of the Finnish system rather than a statement.

An ethical review does not shift the researcher’s responsibility of their research and its moral solutions to the ethics committee.

It should be noted that a statement from the ethics committee is not a research permit. A permit to conduct research is always issued by the organisation in which the research will be conducted. In addition, the individual research participants must give their consent to be involved in the research.

Ethical reviews of research are conducted by ethics committees. The relevant ethics committee is determined by the place where the researcher conducts their research and by the type of research.

Read instructions on ethical review on The Human Sciences Ethics Committee of the Helsinki Region Universities of Applied Sciences web pages.

 

Research permit

Research permits

The project is responsible for ensuring that they have the necessary research and other permits to carry out the research and that the process complies with the permits. The research permit is obtained from the organisation to which the research relates.

A research permit is required when the research involves Laurea’s students, Laurea’s staff, or Laurea as an organization. The permit is granted on the condition that the research benefits Laurea. Research permits for other organizations are issued by the respective organization. Please read and follow the guidelines for research authorisation and submit the research authorisation when it is ready for processing.

The basis of research ethics and integrity

Research ethics is part of the project's data management and good academic practice. Laurea is committed to adhering to the Responsible conduct of research and Ethical review in human sciences given by the National Board on Research Integrity (TENK). These commitments should be mentioned in the applications.

From these guidelines emerge a set of practices that bind the projects.

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