Three possible strategies for dealing with privacy protection problems in Bachelor’s theses.
When completing theoretical assignments and literature reviews, general research-ethical guidelines for thesis writing apply. There should normally be no problems linked to privacy protection.
When carrying out projects that collect empirical data, the person responsible for the course may function as the leader of the project (qualitative or quantitative) if there is a cluster of projects within the same thematic area. These must then be reported as one project to NSD. The project work will be considered as research and may, under certain conditions, be published. This makes it necessary to follow the procedures for information and consent that are described by NSD. The projects must adhere to the research-ethical guidelines that apply to such projects and must also apply to FEK as one joint project. See the link to NSD for instructions.
When carrying out projects that collect anonymous empirical data, there is usually no need for notifying NSD and FEK. It shall not be possible to trace anonymous data back to individuals, neither directly (through person-unambiguous markers like names), indirectly (through a combination of background information like age, gender, place etc.) or by using a code and alignment key. An example of this may be measuring oxygen intake on a treadmill and alignment with other tests. In such cases, there is no need for research protocol, information- and consent form and NSD or FEK assessment.
Studies carried out by students on each other require consent and information about the terms described (above?), ( for instance that no names, id-numbers or any information that identifies persons should be registered. The terms must be clearly set out both in the project answer papers and in the course descriptions. The specifications will contribute to data protection and mastery of the research-ethical and methodical skills. Projects based on anonymous empirical data are not classified as research and cannot, therefore, be published.
Important!
Please be aware that neither NSD nor FEK is responsible for considering whether a bachelor’s project must apply to NSD or FEK. This assessment is the responsibility of the individual student in cooperation with the person responsible for the course and the supervisor. It presupposes that the terms and requirements have been presented both in the teaching and in the course descriptions.