Laurea LibGuides: Guide to Thesis Data Management, Data Protection and Research Ethics: Research ethics and research permit

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:

Choice of topic and ethics: Check with your supervisor that you can write a thesis on the topic of your choice. It is not possible to carry out an ethical review of a Bachelor's thesis and it is therefore a good idea to discuss the choice of thesis topic with your supervisor. For a Master's theses, it is possible to apply for an ethical review, which can be done together with the supervisor.
Informing participants and obtaining consent: The participant/research subject must be informed about the study and must give his/her consent. If the working partner 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.
Research permit: The organisation from which the data is collected is asked for permission to conduct the research..
Processing of personal data: The processing of personal data is dealt with in a separate section on Data Protection.

1. Choice of topic and ethical issues related to the topic

When choosing a topic, you should consider whether it is possible or sensible to write a Bachelors' or Master's thesis on the subject. In the case of a Bachelor's thesis for a university of applied sciences, the student should discuss the suitability of the topic. The main principle is that ethically demanding topics are not recommended.

Make sure that your thesis does not require ethical review by NOT including any of the following:

The thesis would interfere with the bodily integrity of the subjects.
The study would target children under the age of 15 without the express consent or information of the guardian, which would allow the guardian to prohibit the child from participating in the study.
Participants would be presented with exceptionally strong stimuli, e.g. a scary violent video.
The thesis could risk causing psychological harm (trauma, depression, insomnia) to the subjects or their loved ones beyond the limits of normal everyday life.
The conduct of the study might pose a threat to the safety of the subjects, the researcher, or their loved ones (e.g. research on domestic violence).

These topics require ethical review, but that is not done for thesis of universities of applied sciences. Therefore, work containing these ethical challenges is not recommended for a Bachelor´s or a Master's thesis. More information: Ethical Review

Under 15s and people with disabilities as topics of research:

For children under 15 years of age, the consent to participate is given by the guardian and the child, according to age
- Observations without personal data and surveys with more than 400 respondents require that the guardians be informed
In the case of research involving minors under the age of 15 without the express consent or informing of their guardian, it must be ensured that the research does not cause any harm to the subjects and that the minors to be studied are able to understand the subject of the research and the concrete requirements for their participation in the research..
The consent of a handicapped or an incapacitated person is given by the legal representative and the person himself/herself
- mental disorder, intellectual disability or other cause (memory impairment)
The participants'/respondents' right to self-ownership and voluntariness must be respected, regardless of consent
The obligation to notify the child protective services, if needed, does apply

For the Master's thesis

If a postgraduate thesis (e.g. Master's thesis) is planned to be carried out in a way that requires an ethical review, the student applies for it to the Ethics Committee together with his/her supervisor. If necessary, the student and the supervisor jointly apply to the Human Sciences Ethics Committee of the Helsinki Region Universities of Applied Sciences for a preliminary assessment of research ethics using the statement request form provided by the Committee. The application must clearly identify the research ethics issues for which a preliminary opinion is sought.

2. Informing participants, consent to participate and possible further use of data

When people take part in a thesis, for example in an interview, observation, survey or workshop, they are informed about the thesis and their contribution to it. They will also be informed if the thesis material will be further used or stored in a data archive. Participants will be asked to give their consent to participate and to the processing of their personal data.

2. Informing and consent of participants/subjects

The most important principle of research ethics is informed consent to participate in research and thesis work, known as ethical consent. This means that the participant is adequately informed about the research and the researcher documents the consent. This requires that participants are adequately informed about the principles and practices of conducting thesis research.

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 information form and consent form where appropriate.

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 in the thesis; consent form can be found in the Laurea thesis guidelines on student Intranet.

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.

3. Do I need a research permit?

Research permits

The student is responsible for ensuring that he/she has the necessary research and other permits to carry out the thesis and that the process complies with the permits. The research permit is obtained from the organisation to which the research relates.

If the research may cause physical, psychological or legal harm to the subjects, the thesis author must request a statement from the Ethics Committee as an annex to the application for research authorisation. See the section on ethical review. The student should discuss the matter with the thesis supervisor before applying for a statement.

Whenever the research concerns either Laurea as an organisation, Laurea students or staff, or part of them, a research permit is required from Laurea. The application for a research permit should be sent to researchpermit@laurea.fi. Please read and follow the guidelines for research authorisation and submit the research authorisation when it is ready for processing.

Note: A research plan must be attached to the application for a research authorisation! If you process students' or teachers' email addresses, e.g. for sending a survey or an invitation to an interview, please also fill in the privacy section on the third page. Also make sure that your supervisor has checked the application before sending it.

Rights of subjects

Participation in the study must be voluntary and it must be possible to interrupt and withdraw from the study.

This principle includes the following:

Voluntary: Participation in a study is voluntary in principle, with the right to refuse participation..
The right to refuse, suspend or withdraw participation: Participants have the right to suspend or withdraw at any time. Withdrawal of consent must be as easy as giving it.
Informing participants: The right of the participants to be informed about the content of the study, the processing of personal data and the practical implementation of the study.
- The participant must be given a comprehensible and truthful picture of the objectives of the study and of the potential harms and risks of participation.
Information about being a subject: The participant of a thesis should know that he/she is a subject:
- especially in situations where the researcher is also in a role other than that of the researcher in relation to the subject, for example as the participant's supervisor or teacher.

Starting points of research ethics

Research ethics in thesis

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

Laurea is committed to the following research ethics guidelines:

Finnish National Board on Research Integrity (TENK) guidelines on the Finnish Code of Conduct for Research Integrity and Procedures for Handling Alleged Violations of Research Integrity in Finland 2023 (PDF).
Finnish National Board on Research Integrity (TENK) guidelines on The ethical principles of research with human participants and ethical review in the human sciences in Finland. Finnish National Board on Research publication 3/2019 (PDF).

These guidelines form the practices that bind the thesis. Particular attention is paid to safeguarding the anonymity of clients and employees and avoiding unauthorised citing.