7  Ethics & Data Management

7.1 The ethical self-check

Before you start collecting data, it is mandatory to complete the ethical review self-check via the Research Ethics Review Committee (RERC) of the Faculty of Social Sciences (FSW).

You can find the self-check and all relevant information here: vu.nl/en/employee/research-support/research-ethics-review-ssc

ImportantAlways complete the self-check with me

I hold final responsibility for the accuracy of your answers. Never complete the self-check without consulting me first. Inaccurate answers can invalidate the ethical assessment and make your data unusable.

7.1.1 How the self-check works

  1. Complete the online survey in consultation with me
  2. If your research meets the faculty’s ethical guidelines → no further review needed. You will receive a PDF confirmation by email.
  3. If your research does not meet the guidelines (e.g., no informed consent, stimuli that may distress participants, or vulnerable populations) → further steps are needed

7.1.2 If your research does not pass the self-check

  1. Discuss the issue with me. In many cases, a small design adjustment solves the problem
  2. If the issue cannot be resolved, I will contact the RERC (not you!)
  3. Note: thesis projects are generally not eligible for full RERC review, unless the project is part of a larger, supervised research line that will be published. In that case, I must prepare materials for full review.

7.1.3 Practical notes

  • Save the self-check PDF output and store it in your surfdrive folder and attach it as an appendix to your thesis
  • You can change your answers before the final submission of the form, but always discuss all answers with me before pressing submit
  • In some cases, I have already applied for ethical review for a research line you are joining. Check with me whether you need to complete the self-check separately.

7.1.4 Qualtrics: disable personal data collection

By default, Qualtrics stores personal data (IP address and geolocation). If you want to keep responses anonymous:

  1. Go to Survey Options in Qualtrics
  2. Under Survey Termination, enable: “Anonymize Response — Do NOT record any personal information and remove contact association”

If you do not do this, you must answer “yes” to the question about collecting personal/sensitive data in the self-check, and you must store the data securely. We almost never need to collect IP addresses or geo location.

7.2 Data management

Careful and secure handling of research data is required throughout your thesis.

7.2.1 Storing your data (surfdrive/research drive)

The accepted secure method for storing and sharing data with me is a shared SURFdrive or Research Drive folder, protected by a password. I will create this folder and grant you access.

Workflow:

  1. Place the complete raw data file in the shared folder with a clear name (e.g., ALL_RAW_DATA_StudyName_StudentName.sav)
  2. Make a duplicate of the raw file — work only in the copy
  3. Remove all personal/sensitive data from the working file (e.g., geolocation, IP addresses, names, email addresses, in case these data are still included)
  4. Clean the working file and create new variables as needed
  5. Keep your syntax (R or SPSS) updated and annotated throughout

7.2.2 Syntax hygiene

Always work with syntax — never run analyses from menus without recording them (see also the chapter “R for Data Analysis”):

  • In SPSS: click “Paste” for every command run from a menu; add notes with * comment text
  • In R: annotate your script with # comment text

Your syntax should allow anyone (including you, six months from now) to:

  • Re-create the final dataset from the raw data
  • Reproduce every reported analysis

At the start of your method section, report all cases removed from the dataset and the reasons (e.g., “9 cases were excluded because they did not complete the questionnaire”).

TipSyntax is part of your grade

Reproducible syntax is a sign of scientific rigor. I need access to your data and syntax (via surfdrive) when assessing your thesis.