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Ethics policy for the Division of Archaeology

Everyone working under the remit of or in connection with the Division of Archaeology and the McDonald Institute should consider any ethical issues arising from their work, and seek to address these concerns in as sensitive a way as possible. All should be aware of the University of Cambridge’s guidelines on Ethics in Research.

There are six areas that may be of concern in archaeological research:

  1. Studies involving human remains
  2. Research using questionnaires and person surveys
  3. Research using materials acquired through the illegal antiquities trade
  4. Archival research involving correspondence about living archaeologists
  5. Surveillance: this includes very recent aerial photographs and satellite images used only for archaeological? features (i.e. post–2005).
  6. Research using material that has special symbolic, social, or political significance for some people

Studies involving human remains

By virtue of their status as the remains of once living people, treatment of human remains requires ethical considerations over and above those that pertain to other classes of archaeological materials. Researchers should ensure that human remains are always treated with dignity, sensitivity and respect regardless of age or provenance and should comply with the code of ethics set out by the British Association for Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology.

Teaching staff should take responsibility for ensuring that any students working with human remains are familiar with correct handling techniques.

The Division of Archaeology and the McDonald Institute comply with the Human Tissue Act 2004 as regards research on and storage of relevant human samples. Please consult Dr Tamsin O’Connell if you consider that your samples may be within the remit of this act (generally any material that is less than 100 years old).

Questionnaires, surveys and symbolically, socially or politically sensitive materials

There are ethical issues related to the collection of personal data, such as memories, or working with materials that holds particular meaning. There are also indirect ethical issues related to any kind of social research that involve people such as surveys or questionnaires. Researchers have responsibility to handle carefully and sensitively any information that they uncover or that is entrusted to them, and be aware of personal and local sensitivities. The same considerations apply to the presentation and dissemination of such research data both at the local level and beyond. In practice, informed consent should be sought when collecting personal data, including permission for the use of data; collection of data should be done in a sensitive manner; and confidentiality must always be respected. More broadly researchers must be aware of the importance of following ethical codes in all data collection and in ensuring that ethical awareness informs all research practice. For a statement of good practice, see the European Unions’ document Ethics for Researchers.

Work Abroad

Each individual takes responsibility for her/his conduct insofar as it follows the law of the country in which the research activity takes place (principle of subsidiarity). This means finding out the legal position(s) with regard to teaching, fieldwork, excavation, sample collection, export, import, preservation, ownership and storage of finds, participant observation and interviews, etc. and taking active measures to comply with or support them.

Student research

Each student MUST discuss the ethical implications of their research with their supervisor: this must be done at the beginning of the research and based on the anticipated work. If the nature of the work changes at any point during the project, then further discussions must be completed and approved before work continues.

Applying for Ethical Approval

If your work requires formal ethical approval, you should follow the University guidelines as to the appropriate route to follow. Please consult your supervisor (if a student), the Departmental Administrator and the Head of Department in the first instance, if you are unsure of whether or not you require such approval. The School of Humanities and Social Sciences has a Research Ethics Committee which can pronounce on ethical issues to do with projects if the Head of Department deems that it is beyond his/her remit. It is not a sitting committee. Please contact our Departmental Administrator as to how to get in touch with this committee.

Researchers may wish to consult the ethical guidelines and codes of conduct of different professional bodies (e.g. BABAO, the Society for American Archaeology, the Association of Social Anthropologists of the UK, the Institute of Field Archaeologists, European Association of Archaeologists) to ensure that they have considered all ethical aspects to their work.

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