Research integrity and ethics

In Finland, the researcher must request an ethical review statement from a human sciences ethics committee prior to gathering data, if their research contains any of the following:

1. Participation in the research deviates from the principle of informed consent,
2. the research involves intervening in the physical integrity of research participants,
3. the focus of the research is on minors under the age of 15, without separate consent from a parent or carer or without informing a parent or carer in a way that would enable them to prevent the child’s participation in the research,
4. the research exposes participants to exceptionally strong stimuli,
5. the research involves a risk of causing mental harm that exceeds the limits of normal daily life to the research participants or their family members or others closest to them,
6. conducting the research could involve a threat to the safety of participants or researchers or their family members or others closest to them.

An ethical review statement may also be requested when a funding body, collaborative partner, research object or publisher so requests. If a publisher or a funding body requires an ethical review statement for a study which does not require ethical review in Finland, the committee may provide a description of the ethical review system in Finland instead of issuing an ethical review statement. The description may be requested from the committee secretary.

In ethical review, the ethics committee assesses the ethical soundness of planned research, particularly focusing on:

• the potential risks and harm to research participants, their families and potentially also the researcher themselves as well as their likelihood in relation to the plans drawn up to avoid them described in the request for a statement
• sufficiently clear information to research participants on the content of the research, their participation in the research and the processing of their personal data
• the data management plan, also containing a description of the processing of personal data throughout the lifespan of the research
• the appropriateness of the research participant’s written or electronic consent to participate in
• the way in which the consent of participants is requested and documented if written or electronic consent is not used
• the significance of the new information that the research aims to obtain in relation to to potential harms and risks

Request for an ethical review statement must be submitted to ethics@lut.fi no later than two weeks before the committee meeting at which the request is to be considered. The request is submitted as a single PDF document, which includes the following documents arranged in order:

1. Ethical review request form
2. Summary of the research plan
3. Research plan
4. Assessment of the ethical nature of the research by the person responsible for the research
5. Informed consent documents (i.e. participant information sheet, consent form)
6. Other materials intended to be given to research participants
7. Data management plan (DMP)
8. Privacy notice for research and initial data protection assessment
9. Data protection impact assessment (DPIA)

Further instructions for preparing the documents are available on the intranet.

Members of the ethics committee for the term 1 January 2025 – 31 December 2026:

Chair
Lecturer Minna-Maria Behm, LAB Health Care (deputy member: Lecturer Tuija Rinkinen)

Members
Professor Pasi Heikkurinen, LUT LBS (deputy member: Associate Professor Anni Tuppura)

Principal Lecturer Kari Kauranen, LAB Health Care

Associate Professor Johanna Naukkarinen, vice chair, LUT LES (deputy member:

Associate Professor (Tenure Track) Jarkko Levänen)

Chief Specialist Jenni Niemelä-Nyrhinen, LAB Institute of Design and Fine Arts

Lawyer Ilona Saarenpää (deputy member: Lawyer Suvituuli Heikkinen)

Committee secretary
Research Integrity Advisor Jaakko Kuha
Phone: +358 50 594 8117
Email: ethics@lut.fi

A research permit is required from persons not affiliated with LUT University when research is carried out on the organisation, personnel or students of LUT University, and the research plan meets one or more of the following conditions:

• the research design requires ethical review,
• the research affects the performance of the work of the university staff or the teaching of students (e.g., when an intervention is made in a teaching situation),
• university students are observed, interviewed or asked to respond to surveys during teaching or in comparable situations,
• the subject of the research is university equipment, enclosed spaces, or events to which the public is not admitted, or
• there is another specific reason for applying for a research permit.

Research permit is not required when

• the research is carried out by a member of LUT or LAB staff or student. The staff of LUT Universities may independently agree with the relevant party on the implementation of the research.

Generally, a research permit is not required when

• the above-mentioned research permit criteria are not met, and the research invitation is requested to be distributed generally to staff or students through the university’s information systems. The administrator of the information system decides whether distributing the invitation is appropriate. If the administrator of the information system decides that the request requires more detailed consideration, they may require that a research permit is applied for.
• requesting the university to disclose register or document data under the Act on the Openness of Government Activities. In this case, an information request must be made to (LUT.Asiakirjat@lut.fi).

A research permit is applied for by completing the research permit application form and submitting the required documents mentioned in the form to ethics@lut.fi.

Research permit application form