How does the ethics review procedure work?
First you complete a checklist; next, if necessary, you apply for ethics review. See this webpage for additional information.
Research Ethics Review Committee (RERC) regulations are posted here.
Why can't I submit materials for full review as a BA/MA/PhD student?
As a student, your supervisor is responsible for your research.
I'm a student and I need full ethics review, but my supervisor does not respond to my questions. What do I do now?
Get in touch with your department's Research Ethics Review Committee (RERC) member.
How long does the ethics review procedure take?
In most cases the review procedure takes less than one month. If your research plans raise no ethics issues, completing the pre-check will be sufficient and the process will take less than an hour. If your research plans raise severe ethics issues and full review is necessary, however, it may take up to three months.
Does a full ethics review always take 3 months? I want to start data collection sooner.
Full ethics review does not always take 3 months. Only when your research requires full review and you need to revise and resubmit the materials it might take that long. You can state the desired starting date in the form. The earliest starting date for a study that requires full review is always after the next meeting of the RERC. The RERC meets once a month during the academic season (September – June). See this webpage for the meeting dates.
Can you retroactively check my research? I need proof of ethics research for an article that I’m writing for a journal.
No, the RERC does don’t give advice on research that is already completed. Most journals requiring proof of ethics review are not aware of the context of ethics review in the Netherlands. In this case, the following explanation of the context may help: “In the Netherlands, ethics review is only required by the Medical Research Involving Human Subjects Act (WMO) for medical research. Because this study is non-medical, it is exempt from ethics review. An explanation including definitions of medical research are available here.
How can I prove that my research has gone through ethics review?
After you have completed the full review procedure, you receive a letter from the RERC stating that the research complies with the guidelines of the Faculty of Social Sciences. If your research does not require a full review and you need a letter stating this, write to rerc.fsw@vu.nl, mentioning the self-check registration number.
Recently I moved to the Faculty of Social Sciences at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. I have ethics approval for my research from my former university. Do I need to go through the ethics review procedure at VU again?
In most cases you do not have to go through the ethics review procedure at VU. If the approval comes from another university in the Netherlands you will not need to reapply at VU. The RERC is a member of NETHICS, the interuniversity network of ethics review committees in the social and behavioral sciences in the Netherlands. Members of the network have agreed that researchers only have to apply once for the same research. See article J1 of the code of conduct.
Review committees adopt each other’s advice. Please send the approval you already have to the RERC secretary at rerc.fsw@vu.nl. If you come from another university, send all documents you provided to the ethics review committee of your former employer as well as the confirmation from that committee to the RERC secretary at rerc.fsw@vu.nl.
What level of detail should I give to research participants about the research before they participate?
As a general rule: provide the level of detail you would require if you would be a participant in the study yourself. Always provide information about the risks for the participants associated with the research. You do not have to state the research hypotheses or the theories you are testing. If it is necessary for the study you may deceive them about the purposes of the research, provided that you debrief the participants afterwards.
Can you give me an example of an informed consent form?
Yes, see examples here.
Do participants in research always have to give consent?
When you ask participants to do something, you need to ask for consent. This includes asking them to provide information, to complete a questionnaire, take a test, or display specific behavior.
Observations of behavior in public spaces require no consent. If you plan to collect audiovisual data, however, you need to create a data management plan that describes how you will protect the identities of the persons in the data.
Are my research participants vulnerable?
If you are working with children, minors, refugees, persons in ill health, persons with symptoms of depression or other mental health issues, whistle blowers, integrity officers, victims of crimes, witnesses of crimes, or with people who have been in circumstances that put them at risk of victimization, they will probably be vulnerable. In previous applications, war veterans, mothers with PTSD, children in insecure home situations, victims of crimes, and refugees are examples of groups that we have considered vulnerable. If your research participants are healthy adults they will probably not be vulnerable.
Can minors give consent for participation in research themselves?
Under Dutch law, minors younger than 16 cannot give consent themselves. You will need to ask parents or guardians for their consent with participation in the research. Minors between 16 and 18 years of age may give consent for participation in research themselves. We do encourage you to inform parents or guardians that the minor has been invited for the study. If you do research in schools, always ask the school board for permission.
Can you give me examples of potential risks?
The RERC regards as minor issues: asking participants questions about past episodes in life during which they have felt worthless, miserable, down, or depressed; asking questions about negative life events that participants experienced in the past, such as sickness, relationship problems, poverty, or victimization of property theft. When you ask such potentially disturbing questions, make sure that participants understand that you are not qualified to offer help.
When you ask potentially disturbing questions about the present time, the RERC regards them as moderately severe issues. Always offer participants ways to seek help if they need it. Also offer help if you are asking participants questions about suicidal tendencies, violence, or sexual abuse, or when you ask participants to engage with violent or sexual content. Debrief participants afterwards. Another moderately severe issue emerges when the study may endanger the reputation of participants or groups that participants belong to.
The RERC regards as an unacceptable risk: when participants in your study can be identified by authorities and thereby the chance that they are prosecuted, convicted, or punished increases.
When do I need to debrief my participants?
Debrief participants if you deceive them by giving false information, if you surprise them with an unexpected and potentially disturbing sound, image, or video, if you are asking participants questions about suicidal tendencies, violence, or sexual abuse, or when you ask participants to engage with violent or sexual content.
When can I presume consent?
You can only presume consent with participation in research if you told participants explicitly that they can opt out, and provided your contact information to them so they can ask you questions or request you to delete their data.
What is the purpose of a consent form?
The purpose of a consent form is that you can demonstrate that a specific person actively gave consent for participation with the research. In case doubts arise about the number and identity of participants after the research has been completed the consent form leaves a paper trail.
Where should I keep records of consent?
Store consent forms in a separate, secure location that persons you did not authorize cannot access for a period of at least 10 years after publication.
Does the consent form have to be a form with a signature?
No, there are other means to obtain consent. Read more about your options related to consent here, under Informed Consent.
Under which conditions can I use data from social media platforms?
If you use information that public figures (elected officials, politicians celebrities, “influencers”) posted on a public platform (i.e., not restricted to members) you may analyze and quote it, because you can assume that the information was not intended to keep private.
How should I process data from WhatsApp conversations?
Always ask consent of the user of the before you start processing data that include personal information, and give users the option to remove data they would not like to share with you. Remove all references to the users and other persons in the conversations in the form of phone numbers, names, and other indirect references to their identities.
What is the difference between anonymization and pseudonymization?
Do not use the term ‘anonymous’ lightly. An anonymous person cannot be identified at all. Participants in research are rarely anonymous. If you have their email addresses, user names, IP addresses, geolocation, or any other information that directly or indirectly identifies participants, they are not anonymous.
Pseudonymization means that participants cannot be identified by others. You can protect their identities by a. reducing the level of detail and aggregating information about them (say: “a tall engineer in his 30s” instead of “a tall 36 year old engineer”); b. omitting information (say: “an engineer in his 30s” instead of “a tall engineer in his 30s”).
How can I anonymize data from audio files?
Data from audio files should be pseudonymized by assigning codes to them. If you need to protect the identities of persons in the recording, scramble the audio files.
When can I collect personal information?
When collecting personal data, you have a duty of care towards your respondents (or other research stakeholders) as laid out in the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Dutch Implementation Act for the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR Implementation Act).
In order to collect, store or otherwise process personal information, you need a legal ground to do so. For researchers, this legal ground is most often informed consent. By fully informing your respondents what data you will collect, what you will do with that data, and who respondents can contact for more information, you ensure that respondents’ data rights are respected. Informed consent templates can be found on the Faculty of Social Science’s templates and examples page.
In addition to having legal grounds, you need to ensure that you collect no more information than you need, that you do not use the data for other purposes or for a longer time than you have consent for, and that you take appropriate security measures to protect your data subjects.
If you cannot ask for consent, there may be other legal grounds you can invoke. For this, or advice on security measures or other matters, contact your Privacy Champion at privacy.fsw@vu.nl.
More information on privacy in research can be found in the University Library’s LibGuide.
I have a question on data management or privacy. Where can I get help?
From the data steward of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Emily Barabas, at data.fsw@vu.nl.