CREATE & MANAGE DATA

CONSENT & ETHICS

CONSENT / CONSENT IN SURVEYS

OVERVIEWWRITTEN OR ORAL?GAINING CONSENTCONSENT FORMSSURVEYSAUDIO-VISUALSPECIAL CASESWHAT TO TELL PARTICIPANTSHISTORY

Consent requirements for quantitative surveys vary widely. Many ethical guidelines and Research Ethics Committees require written consent for any research involving human subjects, regardless of research content. However, there is no legal requirement for this.

For data gathered during quantitative surveys (questionnaires), where no personal data are collected or where personal identifiers are removed from the data, obtaining written consent may not be required. At minimum an information sheet should be provided to participants, making clear that consent is implied from participating in the survey or filling out the questionnaire. This is the usual practice for most large-scale surveys such as those undertaken by government departments in the UK.

If, however, a survey extends beyond asking questions to include activities such as a nurse visit, taking samples, making physical measurements, etc. then written consent is required. If personal data, sensitive data or confidential data are gathered during a survey, the use of written consent forms is recommended to assure compliance with the Data Protection Act and with ethical requirements.

A researcher conducting their own survey is still best served, vis-à-vis the legal environment, by gaining written consent for use, processing, and sharing of the data.

A sample consent statement for a survey or questionnaire is provided, as well as an example information letter from the British Household Panel Survey. Various examples of consent forms used in major surveys are available via the Survey Question Bank (SQB).

VIEW CONSENT STATEMENT FOR A SURVEY

VIEW INFORMATION LETTER

VIEW SQB CONSENT FORMS

A QUICK GUIDE TO THE ARCHIVE  

1 of 10: We provide continuous access to the UK’s largest collection of digital research data in the social sciences
2 of 10: We hold thousands of data collections for social science research and teaching, quantitative and qualitative
3 of 10: Each of our data collections has a unique persistent identifier (DOI) that makes it easier to find and cite
4 of 10: We hold the only copy of many of the UK's large national surveys charting social research back decades
5 of 10: We are an established national archive at the forefront of managing, preserving, sharing and delivering data
6 of 10: We are certified to ISO 27001, the information security standard, and helped develop the Data Seal of Approval
7 of 10: We are a collaborative organisation supporting emerging and existing creators and users of data
8 of 10: We provide best practice guidance and training in managing and sharing research data
9 of 10: You won’t be able to find your family records on our site. You should visit a genealogical site instead
10 of 10: We don’t provide ready-made statistics, but using Nesstar you can view frequencies from popular surveys
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