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.

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!

• Ethics and GDPR instructions (Dutch)
• Ethics and GDPR instructions (English)
• Umbrella procedure for class-based BA/MA research (Dutch)
• Umbrella procedure for class-based BA/MA research (English)
• Guidelines for online 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.

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;
• No special personal data are being processed. (Special personal data are: religion or belief, race / ethnic background, political preference, health, sexual orientation, biometric data, genetic data, trade union membership, criminal history)

In addition, the following types of research are regarded as standard if only the features mentioned below in italics are non-standard.

• First language acquisition research, which by default includes minors.
• Sign language research which processes information about the hearing status of participants or their family members (e.g. parents).

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; 
• Processing of special personal data is not intentionally targeted. (Special personal data are: religion or belief, race / ethnic background, political preference, health, sexual orientation, biometric data, genetic data, trade union membership, criminal history). 

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:

• 1 December 2023 (deadline for non-standard projects 23 November 2023)

• 26 January 2024 (deadline for non-standard projects 18 January 2024)

• 8 March 2024 (deadline for non-standard projects 29 February 2024)

• 26 April 2024 (deadline for non-standard projects 18 April 2024)

• 7 June 2024 (deadline for non-standard projects 30 May 2024)