Research permit

How to apply for a research permit

Student applications must also include the supervisor’s signature.

• The research permit application, with attachments, must be sent by email to researchpermit@laurea.fi.
• Attach the research plan to the application.
• Student applications must also include the supervisor’s signature.
• Please wait to hear about the progress of the processing. Applications are handled in order of receipt and centrally, usually one day a week. It is the applicant’s responsibility to allow sufficient time for the processing of the application in view of the research schedule.
• Applications are intended to be processed within two weeks.

Granting a research permit

The decision on a research permit is made by the Vice President (RDI). A research permit is primarily granted to projects that are significant for the development of Laurea’s overall expertise. A research permit may be granted to a member of Laurea’s staff if doing the research has been agreed with the supervisor or if the research is part of the person’s job duties. In that case, the research plan must indicate how the results will be disseminated and how the results are intended to be used in developing Laurea. 

Under the LbD operating model, a work-life-oriented research and development project is seen as a learning environment that enables the emergence of new practices. This requires genuine connections with working life, and therefore research and development projects are primarily directed at the world of work and business. Internal development of Laurea’s operations can also be carried out in accordance with the LbD operating model. The requirement for research-based approach always applies to research and development projects targeting Laurea under the LbD operating model.

Permission is granted cautiously on a case-by-case basis for LbD projects and for projects related to theses, master’s, licentiate or doctoral work, or those with a significant national/international objective.

Restricting the use of registers aims to protect data privacy, ensure the validity of research and prevent survey fatigue.

Handling of data

The granting of a research permit and the release of data/materials are conditional on the researcher committing to handle the data in accordance with legislation on the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy.

The researcher is obliged to use the data/materials confidentially and only for the purpose of conducting this research/study and to safeguard the privacy and anonymity of the individuals they examine. After completion of the research/study, the material must be disposed of in an appropriate manner.

The applicant for a research permit forwards the positive decision to the person responsible for releasing the data from Laurea University of Applied Sciences’ system. In this context the permit holder also agrees on, for example, the practical arrangements for sending surveys.

Data protection

Data protection If the research results in a register containing personal data, the attachment must include a privacy notice in accordance with Articles 13 and 14 of the EU General Data Protection Regulation. If necessary, the application must also include an ethical pre-assessment statement.

The researcher must commit to complying with the provisions of the EU General Data Protection Regulation and national data protection legislation in the processing and protection of data. Any personal data that may arise in the research must be destroyed or archived in the manner required by the EU General Data Protection Regulation.

More information from the Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman’s website.

Principles of the research permit procedure

The research permit procedure ensures compliance with the following laws, guidelines and principles: 

• The so-called HTK guideline prepared by the National Advisory Board on Research Ethics (TENK) (ethical guideline on good scientific practice)  
• TENK’s guideline Ethical principles of research involving human subjects and ethical pre-assessment of human sciences in Finland 
• The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 
• The Act on the Openness of Government Activities 
• The Act on the Protection of Privacy in Working Life 
• Open science 

As the researcher, you are responsible for ensuring that you have the necessary research and other permits to carry out the work and that the research process complies with research ethics guidelines and regulations. In student research permits, responsibility for the research and obtaining the appropriate permits lies jointly with the student and the supervisor. It is the supervising teacher’s responsibility to provide the student with sufficient instruction and guidance in research ethics. 

Student research permit applications must include the supervisor’s signature.  

When you need a research permit

Laurea University of Applied Sciences has defined the need for a research permit as follows:  

You need a research permit if 

• You need Laurea register data (e.g. students’ and/or staff’s email addresses) for course work, theses, research, or internal development work, for example to send a survey or invite people to interviews. 
• Your thesis results in a research report in which data collection from within Laurea or the use of data owned by Laurea constitutes the main content of the thesis. Research material may consist of questionnaires, interviews or some existing data. 
• You belong to Laurea’s staff and your research (including externally funded RDI projects) collects data (e.g. by surveys or interviews) from our students/staff or you need Laurea’s materials/data to carry out the research. 
• You belong to Laurea’s staff and your internal development work includes large-scale research activities, such as data collection by survey or based on it a scientific publication is written (Ministry of Education and Culture publication categories A1-4, B1-3 and C1-2). You must agree on the development work with your supervisor or it must be part of your job duties. 

You do not need a research permit if 

• You are doing small-scale course work that does not require Laurea’s register data (e.g. staff or students’ email addresses). 
• You are doing a thesis where the main output is a product (e.g. guidelines or teaching material) which you test or evaluate with a small group. 
• You belong to Laurea’s staff and your internal development work does not include large-scale research activities (such as data collection by survey), nor does it result in a scientific publication (Ministry of Education and Culture publication categories A1-4, B1-3 and C1-2). 

Remember to take care of research ethics and the protection of personal data even if you do not need a Laurea research permit! 

 Laurea does not, as a rule, grant research permits for surveys implemented as mass mailings. However, large-scale surveys can be carried out in other ways, for example by publishing a survey invitation on Laurea’s intranet or by sharing an invitation link, e.g. via a QR code during lectures.

Attachments to the research permit application

The research permit application must include the following attachments

• Research plan (mandatory for all applicants) 
• Data management plan (as a separate file or part of the research plan) 
• Privacy notice (If you only process email addresses obtained from the register, you can use the notice template on the last page of the research permit form. Otherwise you will need a separate privacy notice. You can use Laurea’s template, for example, to prepare it.) 
• The questionnaire, interview framework or their drafts  
• Participant information sheet (and/or cover letter) 
• Participant consent form 

Student, please ensure that your supervisor has reviewed and approved your application with their signature before submitting it.