Getting Ethical Approval Before Data Collection
If your research involves people, their data or their organisations, you will almost certainly need ethical approval before you start collecting data. Starting without it can make your data unusable and may breach university rules. In this blog, we'll look at the approvals you may need, what the application usually involves, and how to avoid delays. Requirements differ between institutions and countries, so always follow your own university's procedures.
University Ethics Approval:
- Most universities require approval from a research ethics committee or institutional review board (IRB) before you collect data from human participants.
- This usually applies to surveys, interviews, focus groups, observations and experiments, even when they seem low risk.
- Some low-risk studies may go through a shorter review process, but that decision is made by the committee, not the student.
Other Permissions You May Need:
- Organisational permission: written approval from a company, school, hospital or other organisation where you plan to collect data.
- Additional approvals for sensitive settings, such as health services, which may have their own review processes.
- Permission to use copyrighted questionnaires or scales, where required.
- Data access agreements for some secondary datasets.
What the Application Usually Includes:
- A summary of your study, its aims and methods.
- Your recruitment plan and how participants will be selected.
- The participant information sheet and consent form.
- Your data collection instruments, such as questionnaires or interview guides.
- How you will protect confidentiality and store data securely, and for how long.
- Any risks to participants and how you will reduce them.
Data Protection:
- Check which data protection laws apply to your study, for example the GDPR for research involving people in the European Union, or national laws in your country.
- Collect only the personal data you need, and plan how you will anonymise or pseudonymise it.
Avoiding Delays:
- Build ethics review time into your research plan, as it can take several weeks.
- Ask your supervisor to review your application before submission.
- Respond promptly and fully to any questions from the committee.
- Apply for an amendment if you change your methods, sample or instruments after approval.
Ethical approval protects your participants, your institution and your research. Find out what your university requires, gather any organisational permissions, prepare a clear application, and never start data collection until approval is confirmed in writing.