Research Ethics Committee

The Ethics Review Committee

The Ethics Review Committee evaluates academic research from an ethical perspective, taking into account legal and methodological aspects in its assessment.

What the committee does

The Ethics Review Committee has been established by and operates under the responsibility of the Executive Board of the PThU. It evaluates academic research from an ethical perspective, including the protection and storage of research data. By providing advice on ethical issues, it promotes an open culture in which academic integrity and ethically responsible research are the norm. The guiding principle is that researchers conducting research at the PThU respect the rights, safety, and well-being of participants by adhering the applicable codes of conduct, with special attention to dealing with respondents in vulnerable positions, such as people who cannot (independently) decide whether to participate in research.

Although it is ultimately the responsibility of researchers themselves to decide whether to submit their research for review, it is strongly recommended to do so in at least the following cases (this list is not exhaustive):

• the researchers anticipate publication in an international journal, and/or
• the intended participants are (potentially) in a vulnerable position, and/or
• the data to be collected carry a high level of risk (e.g. highly sensitive data, complex storage requirements, etc.).

Submitting a proposal is always possible — also if there is doubt about whether review is useful or required.

Members

The committee consists of the following members:

• Dr C.C.L.H. van den Berg-Seiffert
• Prof Dr E. Olsman (Vice-Chair)
• Prof Dr T. Tromp (Chair)
• Dr Mr K.W. de Jong (Executive Secretary) (ethischecommissie@pthu.nl)

In addition, the following individuals have been appointed as alternate members:

• Dr. J.B. Bangura
• Dr. S.J.M. Sierksma-Agteres
• Prof.dr. P.M. Wisse

Meeting dates

The committee will meet on:

• Tuesday 12 May 2026 (submit by 28 April 2026)
• Thursday 25 June 2026 (submit by 10 June 2026)
• Week 36 (submit by 19 August 2026)

Please note!

The committee will consider an application only if the following conditions are met:

• The official form must be used for review applications, and it must be completed in full. The form may be requested from the secretary.
• The word count must not exceed the maximum stated for each section.
• All relevant documents must be submitted together with the application (if the research is conducted under supervision, such as in a thesis or PhD project, a statement of approval from the supervisor is also required).
• Documents must be submitted to the secretary no later than two weeks before the meeting (see the dates in brackets above for the submission deadlines).