Information for supervisors and coordinators
When someone under your supervision conducts research that
- (a) requires direct contact with respondents and/or
- (b) include gathering data not available in the public domain,
they must obtain approval from the Faculty’s Ethics Committee. We kindly request that supervisors treat assisting and advising their students in this process as a high priority.
- (a) Each time a researcher conducts an interview or observation of other people (especially when they observe a group as part of it), there is direct contact with the respondent. An interview is always connected with recording the respondent's words in the form of audio, or audio and video recording, for later use in research work.
- (b) Data not available in the public domain is data that is copyrighted or part of a private collection, the use of which requires written consent.
Grant coordinators and Thesis supervisors should ensure that students are fully aware of the ethical aspects of research by familiarizing themselves with the Ethical Principles of the Institute of European Studies. We recommend discussion and dialogue with students on this subject. Please make it clear to students that preparing research that meets ethics guidelines takes time, consideration, and effort. Encourage them to start work on their Research Ethics form as early as is feasible.
Special care is needed in situations of special concern and vulnerability (involving minorities, minors, people with disabilities, as well as researching drug, alcohol, crime, sexuality related issues), or in the case of the unregulated legal status of respondents, such as irregular migrants. These are often tempting research subjects for students, but they also involve additional care and preparation.
We recommend that students and PhD students carrying out research in consortia with partner universities should seek approval for their research from any applicable consortia ethics committees first. But please remember that although this may speed your students’ review process at our Faculty, they must also have the Faulty Research Ethics Committee approval before they may start their research.