The light track procedure is an ethical assessment intended for low-risk research of master theses students. The procedure is a lighter version of the ethical assessment and contains a checklist covering all relevant ethical and GDPR criteria. The main principles here are the Code of ethics for research in the social and behavioural sciences involving human participants, the Code of Conduct for Research Integrity and the GDPR. This checklist also calls on the researcher's own scientific integrity. There are various binding advice and guidelines imbedded in the checklist.

How to apply a light track assessment?

Students can complete the checklist together with their supervisors, starting with a check of the conditions for low and high-risk research. Research that is classified as higher-risk research, has to be applied as a fast or full track procedure in the cETO app. It is essential that the checklist must be answered fully and truthfully. A fully completed checklist can be signed by the student and their supervisor. Signed checklists can be sent to cETO by email as attachment together with the materials for data collection and the approved assessment form of master thesis. The light track checklist is available on the website.

Ethical assessment

When a light track checklist is submitted, a light track reviewer will assess the light track checklist. This will take about 5 working days.

• Approval: Low-risk master thesis research that complies to all ethical and GDPR criteria as indicated in the checklist, can be considered as ethically approved. Approved light track checklists are signed by the light track reviewer and sent to the student and supervisor by email. When the research is ethically approved, the student can start the recruitment of participants.
• Rejection: It is also possible that the light track reviewer rejects the light track proposal. He or she provides a clear motivation to the student and their supervisor why the light track approval is not granted. Then the student has to apply a fast or full track application for ethical approval by the cETO.

Please note that if a checklist is not filled in truthfully or some binding advice or guideline was not taken in account afterwards, the ethical approval will not be valid. It is the shared responsibility of the student and his/her supervisor to take good care of this.

How to apply an amendment?

Students can apply for an amendment in case substantial changes are needed to an application previously approved as light track. The original approved checklist can be sent with track changes and/or comments to the cETO for approval by email.

Do you need ethical approval or not?

Not all research is admissible for ethical assessment as light, fast or full track. Please check the following conditions:

• Research that falls under the scope of the WMO is not admissible for ethical review by the cETO (WMO - Open Universiteit). This type of research must be assessed by an accredited Medical Research Ethical Committee (MREC). If you are unsure whether your research is in the scope of WMO, you can ask the cETO for a WMO check before the start of the research. You can submit an online full track application, which includes a WMO check. If the cETO concludes that the research falls under the scope of the WMO, you still need to go to a MREC.
• Research that is already ethically assessed by another research ethics committee (in the Netherlands) and carried out under the responsibility of an institute other than the OU, requires no second ethical assessment. Please note that research given a no-WMO advice by a MREC is not yet ethically approved.
• Research that involves only fully anonymous secondary data and no new data collection is taken place, requires no ethical assessment. Make sure that you document some clear agreements about the sharing, storage, publishing and responsibilities concerning the data, to avoid conflict or discussion afterwards. The advice is to ask the data steward for consultation.
• Research that already started or finished the recruitment, can no longer be ethically assessed. If the recruitment has only just started, please contact cETO as soon as possible to discuss possible solutions.
• Research that is performed to evaluate and improve the quality of the education at the Open Universiteit.