VAMK is committed to the guidelines issued by the Finnish National Board on Research Integrity (TENK), which serve as the foundation for the ethical committees’ pre-evaluation work in human sciences. The ethical principles for research involving humans described in these guidelines broadly apply to research concerning human beings and human activity.
Research must be conducted in a manner that respects the dignity and autonomy of the participants, and that does not pose significant risks, harm, or disadvantages to individuals, communities, or other research subjects. Please watch TENK's video on ethical pre-evaluation in human sciences.
An ethical pre-evaluation must be conducted before data collection if the research involves one or more of the following research designs:
1. The research deviates from informed consent. For example, participation is not voluntary, or the participants are not provided with sufficient or correct information about the research.
2. The research intervenes in the physical integrity of the participants.
3. The research involves participants under 15 years old without the separate consent or notification of a guardian, which would allow the guardian to prevent the child from participating.
4. The research exposes participants to exceptionally strong stimuli.
5. The research carries a risk of causing participants or their relatives psychological harm beyond the boundaries of everyday life.
6. Conducting the research may pose a security threat to the participants, the researcher, or their relatives.
If none of the above points are met, ethical pre-evaluation is not required.
Pre-evaluation can be requested at VAMK for a Master's thesis (YAMK). A Bachelor's thesis (AMK) cannot involve a research design that requires pre-evaluation. If there is uncertainty about whether evaluation is needed, discuss it with your supervisor. If pre-evaluation is necessary, your supervisor will find the committee's detailed guidelines on the intranet. The supervisor requests the pre-evaluation, but the student must have a completed research plan, a summary of the plan, and the student's evaluation of the ethical aspects and potential risks of the research design.