The difference between a research activity and a research project
The difference between a research activity and a research project
What is a research activity?
A research activity is a delimited part of a project with a clear purpose, a specific method, and a defined data and participant basis.
Important: The requirement for ethical approval is assessed at the level of the research activity.
Examples of research activities:
- Semi-structured interviews with a specified participant group within a given period and context.
- An observational study conducted in a clinic or educational institution involving descriptive video and/or audio recordings.
- An online survey with a clearly defined recruitment process and data management plan.
- A secondary analysis of existing qualitative and/or quantitative data.
What is a research project?
A research project is the overall framework, often multi-year and/or externally funded, including the purpose, work packages (WPs), timeline, and budget.
A single project may comprise several different research activities with different risk profiles. Some parts may not require ethical approval (e.g. purely theoretical analyses), while other parts do.
Why does the Committee approve research activities rather than entire research projects?
Ethical risks arise in the actual conduct of research. They can only be assessed accurately by the Committee when the methods, participants, data, and risks have been sufficiently specified.
It is essential that each research activity is clearly delimited, sufficiently described, and concretely defined so that its ethical aspects can be meaningfully assessed, including who participates, how data are collected, which types of data are processed, and what risks or burdens may arise. An overall project description is rarely sufficient without a clear account of the specific activities for which ethical approval is sought.
Therefore, it is at the level of the research activity that the applicant must describe the procedures (recruitment, consent, data collection, and data processing), the participant groups, the time and place of the activity, and the researcher responsible for it.
Is your research activity described in sufficient detail?
Before applying for an ethical review, we recommend that you review the points below. If all of them can be answered in the affirmative, your description is, as a general rule, ready for ethical review by the Committee.
Do you have an overview of the following?
- The purpose and method of the research activity are described in concrete terms (e.g. protocol, procedures, and instruments).
- It is clear who will participate and how they will be recruited, including whether vulnerable or particularly exposed groups are involved.
- The types of data (ordinary, confidential, sensitive), data collection methods, and processing of personal data (legal basis, sharing, and end-of-project handling) are described.
- Potential risks for the research participants have been assessed, and any mitigating measures have been described.
- The timeframe, location, and responsible AAU researcher have been specified.
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