Should research projects involving questionnaires and other surveys be reviewed by an ethics committee?
• sample selection; • the consent process (ensuring that the participants fully understand what is expected of them, how the information will be used etc); • the protection of the interests of participants (they should not be disadvantaged by taking part in the research); • participant confidentiality and Data Protection. The researcher should also consider the potential harms such participants might encounter (physical or psychological harms, threats to privacy, reputation, issues of discrimination, etc). Essentially, if the research involves human subjects, it should go through ethics review.
