Self-Reflection Guide for Human-Related Big Data Research (MBDO)

The Faculty of Humanities (Utrecht University) and the FEtC-H (Faculty Ethics Assessment Committee – Humanities) have introduced the mandatory Self-Reflection Guide for all researchers conducting MBDO. The Self-Reflection Guide has become a standard tool to help humanities researchers make informed decisions, ensuring their research is responsible and efficient.

If you are researching big data from social media platforms to identify patterns, or using call data from a telecom provider, then you are likely involved in Human-related Big Data Research (MBDO). This type of research offers many opportunities, but it also raises important ethical, privacy, and data management concerns. What decisions will you make? What needs to be documented? And where can you go for support? To help you navigate these questions, the Faculty of Humanities provides the MBDO Self-Reflection Guide.

This is the Self-Reflection Guide working group

The initiative to create the Self-Reflection Guide was launched last year by Ted Sanders, the then Vice Dean for Research and Impact. The working group included researchers Antal van den Bosch and Karin van Es, Chairs of the FEtC-H chambers Koen Leurs and Hugo Quené, privacy officer Leon Kessels, and data managers Dorien Huijser and Frans de Liagre Bóhl.

The final guide was developed under the guidance of policy adviser Wietske Tinga and in consultation with Centre for Digital Humanities technician Sander Prins, project leader of the Research Portal and FEtC-H secretary Desiree Capel, and representatives from the review committees of other faculties.

More information

You can download the Self-reflection Guide Human-Based Big Data Research on the FEtC-H website.