Following the recommendations of the Finnish National Board on Research Integrity (TENK), there is a Human Sciences Ethics Committee at Novia.

The committee meets at least once per term (January/September and as needed). The committee consists of a chairperson, vice-chairperson, secretary, and other experts. The committee’s secretary serves as the contact person for ethical review requests. Experts may be invited to the committee meetings when necessary.

Instructions for submitting an ethical review request

The committee’s meeting dates for 2026 are:

6.3.2026

8.5.2026

At least the following documents must be appended to the request for an ethical review statement:

• Statement request form [Link to the form]
• Summary of the research plan (max. 1 page)
• Assessment of the ethical nature of the research by the person responsible for the research or the thesis supervisor. The assessment should address the potential risks or harm the research may cause to the participants, the researcher, or their close ones, as well as the researcher’s plan for preventing such risks.
• Research plan (max. 5 pages, excluding the title page, table of contents, and references), including a description of the recruitment of research participants
• Data management plan (may be included in the research plan)
• Information sheet for research participants [Link to a template]
• Consent form for research participants [Link to a template]
• Privacy notice (more information, see tietosuoja.fi) [Link to a template]
• Other materials to be given to participants (e.g. questionnaire, interview questions) (if applicable)

It is the researcher’s responsibility to ensure that the attached documents do not contain conflicting information. For example, aspects such as withdrawal of consent, the number of participants, the research timeline, data management, and the processing of personal data must be described consistently across all documents included in the application.

The committee will notify its decision within two weeks of the review. The ethical review statement may be positive, or positive with conditions (including required corrections). The statement may also be negative (with required corrections). Corrections clearly marked in the original request must be submitted to the committee within three months of the request for revisions, following the meeting schedule.

If the researcher does not follow the instructions given in the statement, it may be considered a violation of the responsible conduct of research.

If the applicant for the ethical review does not accept the decision of the Human Sciences Ethics Committee or the proposed amendments included in the statement, they may request a statement on the matter from TENK (Finnish National Board on Research Integrity). A reasoned request with attachments must be submitted within two months of the committee’s decision. More information at www.tenk.fi.

Ethics Review Committee at Novia for the period 1.1.2025–31.12.2026

Members of the committee:

Legal Expertise, Camilla Engman

Senior Lecturer, Emilia Kielo-Viljamaa, Health and Welfare (chairperson)

Senior Lecturer, Camilla Strandell-Laine, Health and Welfare (vice chairperson)

Senior Lecturer Henrik Virtanen, Business Administration (secretary)