Ethics Committee Faculty of Humanities
Before any research involving participants, such as questionnaires, interviews, experiments or observations, or research involving personal data commences, approval of the Ethics Committee must be obtained.
Upholding ethical standards during research and obtaining ethics approval where necessary is an integral part of complying with the Netherlands Code of Conduct for Research Integrity, see 3.2 (13) and 4.6 (18) of the 2018 version. A growing number of academic journals as well as Dutch and European funding bodies require the formal approval of an Ethics Committee before an article can be published or a subsidy granted.
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Applying for an Ethics Review
Anybody with an UvAnetID can apply for approval. However in case of Bachelor and Master student research only staff members can submit an application.
Go to the Faculty of Humanities' Research Management Services (RMS) Portal, login with your UvAnetID and create a new project. To gain access to the RMS-portal, you need to have activated the 2-factor-authentication using the Tiqr app for your UvAnetID.
Fill out both the Ethics Review (reviewed by the Ethics Committee) and the Privacy Protection Review (reviewed by a data steward) and submit these alongside the information brochure and informed consent form. Please note that both standard forms have to be adjusted to your project’s needs. Make sure that the information brochure and the consent form are consistent in their content.
Download the RMS Manual for Researchers (PDF)
Ethics applications submitted before 2023 are archived and can still be accessed by the applicants via the Ethics Data Management Review Portal.Ethics Review for BA/MA thesis research
To ensure timely approval, thesis research applications should be submitted as early and as complete as possible by the supervisor. Students may assist their supervisor with preparing the application as a collaborator in the RMS portal. The responsible supervisor, not the student, should check and submit the application.
Applicants of thesis projects can expect a first reaction to their project within a week after submission. The time until final approval of an application cannot be predicted because it heavily depends on the complexity and sensitivity of the project, as well as on the completeness of the application and the timely reaction of the applicant.
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Downloads
Download standard forms for the Information brochure and Informed consent form:
- Standard EC forms (English)
- Standard EC forms (Dutch)
- Standard EC form for data collection notice in case of public interest (English)
Download guidelines / procedures below. The guidelines will be kept up to date and may change as the situation changes. Be sure to check for the latest version!
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Review procedure for standard research
Standard projects will be assigned to one member of the Ethics Committee and are evaluated throughout the year as they come in. Note that, during holiday periods, the review procedure can take longer due to limited staff availability.
Important note: the standard definition has been updated. The new definition is in place as of 27 of January 2024.
A project is considered standard if all of the following criteria apply:
- participants are 16 years or older;
- participants are legally competent;
- participants do not belong to a vulnerable group;
- there is no risk of chance findings;
- there is no deception;
- there is no possibility of discomfort;
- there is no possibility of harmful or disadvantageous effects;
- standard methods (for your field of research) are used.
Exception for all linguistic research
Linguistic research, which frequently includes minors (a vulnerable group), is regarded as standard if all other standard features listed above apply.
Research with personal data from social media
Media studies research processing personal data from social media is considered standard if all of the following criteria apply:
- participants younger than 16 years are not intentionally targeted;
- legally incompetent participants are not intentionally targeted;
- participants who belong to a vulnerable group are not intentionally targeted;
- there is no high chance of processing sensitive information;
- participants are not mislead;
- the data collection methods do not intend to go against people’s wishes;
- there is no possibility of harmful or disadvantageous effects;
- standard methods (for your field of research) are used.
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Review procedure for non-standard research
Non-standard projects are discussed in one of the plenary meetings of the Ethics Committee and need to be submitted according to the deadlines below.
The Ethics Committee will convene on:
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4 October 2024 (deadline for non-standard projects 26 September 2024)
- 29 November 2024 (deadline for non-standard projects 21 November 2024)
- 31 January 2025 (deadline for non-standard projects 23 January 2025)
- 14 March 2025 (deadline for non-standard projects 7 March 2025)
- 23 April 2025 (deadline for non-standard projects 16 April 2025)
- 6 June 2025 (deadline for non-standard projects 30 May 2025)
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Committee members
The Ethics Committee consists of a chairperson, a professor of Ethics from the Philosophy Department and various members with specific areas of expertise covering all involved disciplines. The committee secretary is provided by the Faculty Office’s Research Department.
Contact
Ethics Committee secretary - commissie-ethiek-fgw@uva.nl | Binnengasthuisstraat 9 | 1012 ZA Amsterdam | kamer 2.03