Application to the Research Ethics Council (FER) for students

• Applicant

• First name:
• Surname:
• Email (university email address, @du.se):
• Phone:
• State the names of the other applicants:

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  Supervisor

• First name:
• Surname:
• Email:
• Phone:
• Has the supervisor approved the application?: --- Yes No

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  About the degree project

• Topic of the degree project:
• Course code:
• Level of the degree project: --- First cycle Second cycle
• Enter degree project title:
• Write a summary of the degree project (approx. 75 words):

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• 1. What ethical issue(s) does the degree project raise?

• Most human studies involve some form of ethical dilemma. This may mean, for example, that individuals are exposed to some form of discomfort or risk; that there is some form of dependency between applicants and participants; that the research is planned for a vulnerable group; or that respect for the individual’s privacy is threatened by the gathering of sensitive data. According to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), sensitive personal data is, for example, information relating to ethnicity, political opinion, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, health or sex life, processing of data about violations of the law, and genetic and biometric data.

  All such potential dilemmas should be outlined here. For information on research ethics principles, see Vetenskapsrådets rapport: God forskningssed 2017 - Vetenskapsrådet
  

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• 2. What measures have been taken to reduce or eliminate ethical problems?

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  Here, you must account for the measures taken or considerations made to address the ethical dilemmas raised in point 1. These may include, for example, treating all information confidentially or not asking individuals from particularly vulnerable groups to participate.

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• 3. What is the benefit of the degree project? Who do you expect will benefit from the degree project?

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  Here, explain whether those who participate (or the group(s) they may represent) will benefit from the study. Will the expected benefit be short or long term? Keep in mind that this is not about specifying the benefit for the degree student, i.e. that the study will make it possible for the degree student to complete their degree project.

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• 4. How will the participants be informed, and how will you contact the informants? (attach information letter)

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  The basic principle is that participants in a study should be fully informed about the study before they are asked to participate. The participants and any guardians or equivalent must be informed orally and/or in writing. In such cases, an information letter and  consent form must be attached to the application.

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• Attach documents

  Include the following documents with your application.

• Form for ethical self-review

• Attach the completed ethical self-review form:
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• Degree project plan

  For an application to be assessed by the board, a degree project plan must be attached (usually the one you wrote as part of your course). The degree project plan is to be a maximum of 10 pages and must include:

  • information about the study's research problems in a larger context and previously reported results in the field (so-called background and problem statement) (approx. 1-2 pages)
  • Purpose and research question
  • a detailed method description (2-3 pages) containing: - a detailed description of the method(s) and associated technology(ies) - a detailed description of the implementation - selection of the informant group - the degree of vulnerability of the informant group, if any - the processing of data about individuals

  Note: The method part needs to be written in detail. To help you, use the Checklist (with instructions for the application) on the FER website when you describe these parts. If applicable, attach a questionnaire or an interview guide. If you fail to do so, FER will not be able to make a complete research ethics assessment of the degree project.

  • provisional timetable
  • forms by which to share/disseminate the results
  • reference list

• Attach the degree project plan:
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• Information letter and consent form

  When you design the information, you should begin by using the document titled Template for Information Letter and Consent Form that you can find on the Research Ethics Council webpage.
  
  

• If applicable, attach the information letter and consent form:
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• Review and approval

  The study must also be reviewed by the person in charge (verksamhetsansvarig) and be approved from a personal safety and resource standpoint by the relevant representatives/directors or heads of all the departments before the study begins. This does not need to be completed before the application to FER is submitted, but it must be before the study begins. If applicable, attach a letter to the verksamhetsföreträdare.

• Has the study been reviewed and approved? --- Yes No
• If no, please explain why:
• Attach the checklist for the FER application:
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