RECs reviewing non-health-related research
In Finland, for non-medical research involving human participants, the Finnish National Board on Research Integrity TENK has issued The ethical principles of research with human participants and ethical review in the human sciences in Finland. Finnish National Board on Research Integrity TENK guidelines (2019), which define the ethical principles to be followed as well as the system for ethical review at the national level.
TENK published the first national guidelines on the ethical principles of research in the humanities and social and behavioural sciences, along with proposals for ethical review in Finland, already in 2009. The guidelines were revised and updated in collaboration with the scientific community in 2019 to apply to a wider disciplinary area and now cover all scientific research beyond medical research that involves human participants. The guidelines are part of the scientific community’s self-regulation system, monitored by TENK.
TENK has a mandate to monitor and promote research ethics and research integrity issued by a decree (1347/1991), but the guidelines that TENK provides represent a legally non-binding code. Research organisations in Finland can voluntarily undertake to comply with TENK’s guidelines and over 80 organisations have decided to comply so far (including all universities and universities of applied science, and several other research institutions and organisations).
When organisations undertake to comply with TENK’s guidelines for non-medical research, they also have an obligation to organise ethical review in accordance with these guidelines. In practice, human sciences ethics committees have been established either per organisation or per region in collaboration between several organisations.
The organizational commitment to TENK’s guidelines also means that the organization has a responsibility as an employer to ensure that researchers who belong to its scientific community are familiar with guidelines and recommendations on research integrity and ethical review and that they comply with these guidelines and recommendations.
The guidelines are also binding upon researchers who are affiliated to these organisations and operate in joint international projects in Finland or outside Finland’s borders.
Ethical review in human sciences
The ethical principles for research with human participants drawn up by TENK serve as a starting point for ethical review carried out by ethics committees in the human sciences.
The ethical principles guide research with human participants alongside the Finnish legislation. The principles have been drawn up to support researchers and research groups in protecting the research participants. In research with human participants, ethical questions focus on the interaction between researcher and research participants.
Ethical review applies only to particular research designs. The researcher must request an ethical review statement from a human sciences ethics committee, if the research project contains any of the following:
- participation in the research deviates from the principle of informed consent,
- the research involves intervening in the physical integrity of research participants,
- 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,
- research that exposes participants to exceptionally strong stimuli,
- research that 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 or
- conducting the research could involve a threat to the safety of participants or researchers or their family members or others closest to them (this includes research involving potential data security risks).
It is also important to note that an ethical review statement for projects not falling under aforementioned criteria may also be requested by a researcher on their own initiative or upon the request of a funding body, collaborative partner, research subject or a potential publisher. The ethical review is always carried out at the research plan phase, before any data is collected. An ethical review statement cannot be issued afterwards.
If a funding body or publisher requires ethical review for research which does not require ethical review in Finland and which has not undergone ethical review, the ethics committee may provide a description of the ethical review system in Finland instead of issuing a statement.
If the research contains any of the elements mentioned earlier and the research has not undergone ethical review, this may constitute a violation of research integrity. In such cases, the procedures described in the Finnish Code for Research Integrity (2023) shall apply. Regardless of whether the research requires an ethical review, the researcher always bears responsibility for the ethical and moral decisions involved, and submitting the research for ethical review never transfers this responsibility to the ethics committee.
The human sciences ethics committees
The human sciences ethics committees may be established either per organisation or per region, in collaboration between research organisations. The committees are typically named human sciences ethics committees to distinguish them from local medical ethics committees. When selecting members of committees, the organisations are advised to ensure that there is a wide range of expertise and familiarity with different fields. If the ethics committee does not have sufficient expertise to evaluate a particular research design, the committee may consult an expert in the particular field where available.
TENK monitors the number of cases handled by human science ethics committees each year, and the number continues to grow. In 2025, there was a slight increase, with around 800 requests received. Negative statements are rarely issued.
Requesting an ethical review statement
To obtain an ethical review statement, a researcher must send a request for a statement to an ethics committee. The ethics committee is determined by the researcher’s workplace or research organisation. The process is free of charge.
If they wish, ethics committees may also review research taking place outside their own organisation. The ethics committee may choose to request a fee, if it agrees to evaluate the research plan of a researcher or organization outside the committee’s host organization.
The ethical review statement may be either positive, conditionally positive (requiring changes), or negative (requiring changes).
Appealing against the statement
If the researcher who has requested an ethical review statement does not accept the changes proposed in the statement or the decision of the human sciences ethics committee, they may request a statement on the matter from TENK.
The request for a statement from TENK, including the grounds for requesting a statement, must be submitted within two months of the ethics committee’s decision.
All statements issued by the human sciences ethics committee must state that this opportunity is available.
National contact:
Petra Falin
Lead adviser at the Finnish National Board on Research Integrity TENK
petra.falin@tenk.fi
