Qualitative research

Informed consent

Informed consent is a principle of research ethics that is defined in data protection law.

It stipulates that potential participants in a study (e.g., a survey) must be adequately informed about the study so that they can make a decision about whether or not to participate. The implementation of this principle may vary in practice. There are also exceptions:

• For example, in the case of participatory observations in public places (such as the main train station), informed consent from all persons present is generally neither possible nor necessary.

• Similarly, informed consent is not usually required when analyzing freely accessible Internet data.

• However, this is the case when conducting research using data from restricted-access areas (e.g., chats that require personal registration). In such cases, informed consent should be obtained from the platform operators and, where applicable, from individual users.

• Participants in traditional surveys (e.g., interview studies or group discussions) are also asked to give their informed consent (verbally or in writing—see below).

In qualitative research, informed consent should be understood as a dialogical process, i.e., participants are given repeated opportunities (e.g., during the initial contact, before the interview, during the interview, after the interview) to ask questions about the research project. Participants may withdraw their consent at any time.

Informed consent is usually obtained in writing for interview studies. In ethnographic studies or participatory observations, it is often only possible to obtain verbal informed consent (e.g., from key individuals). In this case, researchers document (e.g., in field notes or postscripts) how informed consent was obtained. Please be sure to discuss the appropriate procedure with your lecturer or supervisor.

Signed consent forms must be stored securely. If necessary, hand them in to your lecturers for central storage in the teaching department. You can find a sample written consent form at Qualiservice, University of Bremen, for example. In principle, the legal requirements of data protection (GDPR) must be observed.

More information