The online system for receiving permit applications was built with the aim of streamlining the application processing procedures, and thereby, among other things, shortening the time required to conduct research.
The system is also intended to allow the applicant to independently update themselves on the progress of the application, to make it easier for them to submit additional applications in the future, and to even allow viewing of previous applications, if such were submitted in the past via the online system.
For this purpose, applications for a permit to conduct research must be submitted only via the online system .
Before submitting the application, it is important to ensure that the action requested is indeed required by the permit and that it also complies with all other relevant Ministry of Education rules for the case. For a review of the rules for these purposes and guidelines regarding documents that must be attached to the application ,
you can also send a question on the above subjects to the email address: madan@education.gov.il
If you encounter a problem submitting a request in the system, please report it to us using the email address above so we can fix it
The procedures for the handling of some permit applications have been updated, as follows:
In those cases in which the Office of the Chief Scientist determines that the application does not have a characteristic(s) that requires a comprehensive review by it (see the list of these characteristics below), the application will be further addressed as follows:
A. The applicant will be instructed, through the online system, to fill out a letter of commitment regarding the research requested to be conducted;
B. The Office of the Chief Scientist will provide the applicant with a document informing them of an exemption from the requirement for a permit from the Office of the Chief Scientist to conduct research in or through educational institutions.
The applicant must submit the above exemption document to the principal of the educational institutions in which the applicant wishes to conduct the research. The applicant will attach to the exemption document the summary of the research proposal, the research tools, and a letter of reference to the parents of the students who are candidates for testing.
The principal will examine, according to his or her considerations and in accordance with all relevant Ministry of Education procedures, the suitability of the research for implementation in the institution in general, and its implementation among the designated subjects in the institution, in particular (see the procedures at this link).
The principal will communicate his or her decision to the applicant.
If the request includes active participation by students, and the principal’s decision regarding the request is positive, the students’ participation will be conditional on their parents’ free and informed consent, in accordance with the procedure for all research in the education system.
This update to the procedures will enter into force upon its publication here. You can contact the Office of the Chief Scientist for advice regarding the procedures applicable to the above cases, as well as the procedures in general, by phone at 073-3931642 or by email at Madan@education.gov.il.
Characteristics of research requiring a permit from the Office of the Chief Scientist
Research topics – Examination primarily, or inter alia, of one or more of the following topics:
1. Illegal behaviors, including harassment, bullying or violence
2. Risk behaviors (self-risk or risk to others), even if they do not constitute a violation of the law
3. Suicidal behavior and/or loss of life
4. Gender and sexuality (gender identity, sexual behavior/activity, exposure to sexual content, etc.)
5. Trauma (harm to the mind or body, as a result of an event)
6. Mental disorder
7. Stereotypical attitudes (beliefs about the characteristics of a group)
8. Religious belief or religious lifestyle
9. Research in a kindergarten
Research method – Performance of one or more of these activities or its set-up and/or its involvement with them :
1. Gathering information through video recordings or audio recordings
2. Manipulation (deception) of the subjects
3. Collection of information whose results at the student level are intended for delivery to the educational institution and/or parents
4. Operation of a device or accessory that is not part of the routine equipment/routine operation within the educational institution
5. Sociometric examination among students
6. Examination of a medical problem or medical issue, through physical examinations (invasive or non-invasive) or through collection of information or medical documents (from a student, parents, educational staff or from school databases)
Identity/role of the researcher and his relationship with the subjects:
1. Research conducted by a person in charge at the headquarters/district of the Ministry of Education, not for the purpose of fulfilling his/her duties
2. Research in collaboration with subjects or about subjects who are subordinate to the person in charge/conductor of the action, or who are dependent on him/her in some other way and which is not conducted within the framework of fulfilling his/her duties – including studies of the above type intended to be conducted by a teacher conducting the research regarding his/her students or regarding their parents, or by a principal Educational institution regarding the institution’s staff, the students studying at the institution, or their parents
3. Evaluation of a person in a position at an educational institution by his colleagues, subordinates, the supervisor, parents, or students
As a general rule, application documents must be submitted in Hebrew, even if the research is planned to be conducted in educational institutions where the language of instruction/language of communication with parents is not Hebrew.
However, the research proposal can be submitted in English, provided that it is accompanied by an appendix, which includes a Hebrew summary of the proposal.
The remaining standard application documents will be submitted in Hebrew only.
Unique documents (such as safety approval for the use of a device that is not routinely used in the research, a methodological opinion on the research proposal, evidence of the data collectors’ experience in educational work, foreign language tests) can be submitted in Hebrew or English.
It should be clarified that if the actual data collection is conducted in a language other than Hebrew, the responsibility for the correctness and validity of the translation of the data collection tools, the letters of reference to parents, and the letters of consent (with reference to the Hebrew version submitted for review to the Office of the Chief Scientist) applies to the applicant and, depending on the case, also to the supervisor of his/her work.
As of 1/12/19, the validity of permit documents and documents exempting from the permit requirement, which will be issued by the Office of the Chief Scientist, will be limited to three academic years from the date of registration of the document (instead of two academic years).
However, it is clarified that in certain cases the validity period may be shorter if the characteristics of the request require it (for example: a request for a research action, for which the Helsinki Committee of the Ministry of Health limited its validity to only one year or a request to carry out a preliminary action for research – ‘pilot’).
A. Any request regarding student questioning on emotional issues will be required to distribute an information sheet to the subjects referring to help centers to which those interested can turn (the wording of the sheet will be adapted to the age of the subjects. In grades 1-6, referrals to external help centers should not be made)
B. The information sheet will be distributed to the students being tested by the research editor immediately after the data collection is complete.
C. The information sheet will include the option for students to request a meeting with a member of the school staff (counselor, classroom teacher, grade coordinator or other) while stating their name. The sheet will be instructed to be delivered in an envelope that will be given to them to the school secretariat.
D. If the research editor has appropriate expertise and is willing to offer support for the subjects who are interested in it – this can be offered on the information sheet.
E. In cases where the survey findings may raise the possibility of significant emotional distress on the part of the subject (such as depression, anxiety, suicidal intent), the study editor must propose to the Office of the Chief Scientist a key for locating the cases that raise the above concern. The proposed key will be reviewed by the SPI as necessary.
f. The location according to the determined key will be carried out within three days of the date of data collection.
g. In order not to violate the confidentiality of the information, a report will be made to the principal on the findings of the above location at the level of the class being examined only. The report will include an indication of the number of students in the relevant class for whom there is a concern of significant emotional distress.
h. The report to the principal will be made within three days at most from the date of data collection in the class being examined
. i. At the date of data collection in the class being examined, the counselor for the class being examined will be present at the school
Permit applications on behalf of an entity that is not an Israeli institution of higher education, recognized by the Council for Higher Education (hereinafter ‘Israeli academic institution’)
Any permit application submitted by a non-Israeli academic institution must include one of the following:
A. An independent opinion from a senior faculty member at an Israeli academic institution, with proven experience in methodologies and issues relevant to the proposal, confirming that the proposal and research tools meet the requirements (standards) accepted by higher education institutions in Israel for conducting scientific research. This requirement is in addition to all other documents required to be presented by each applicant, according to the instructions on the Office of the Chief Scientist website.
The opinion must be presented on a form that can be downloaded using this link:
Downloadable Opinion Form
It is clarified that the selection of the opinion, the ordering of the opinion and communication with him/her, the payment for his/her working hours and the submission of the proposal and opinion to the Office of the Chief Scientist, will be conducted by the applicant and under his/her sole responsibility, without the involvement of the Office of the Chief Scientist.
B. A statement that the research (the subject of the permit application) is supervised by an academic advisor, who is a faculty member at least at the rank of senior lecturer, at an Israeli academic institution.
C. A statement of the existence of an active research unit for at least 5 years at the institution within which the application was submitted.
D. A statement on the production of research publications such as journals, as part of the activities of the institution within the framework of which the application was submitted
Requests for information collection in kindergartens that involve active interaction of the information collector with the children being tested:
Framework for conducting the research: Applications of the above type will not be permitted for undergraduate studies.
Requirement for evidence of practical experience of the data collector(s) in educational work with young children:
As a general rule, the applicant must present document(s) attesting to the practical experience of the intended data collector(s) in educational work with young children.
However, in the cases detailed below, this evidence will not be required:
a. The data collector is a faculty member or a master’s or doctoral student in one or more of the following fields: speech therapy, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, educational psychology, developmental psychology, early childhood education, educational counseling:
b. The research is being conducted as part of the work of a faculty member at an academic institution that employs a data collection team for research purposes, regarding which the data collector(s) has declared in writing that:
i. has provided him/her with specific training related to methods of communication with early childhood children;
ii. has given priority in selecting the data collectors For those with a teaching certificate (all other experience characteristics of the intended data collector being equal).
It is further clarified that requests for data collection in kindergartens that do not involve active interaction with the children being tested (such as non-interventional observation) are not subject to the above experience requirements.
As of November 1, 2018, the free and informed written consent of the legal guardian (parent) is required for any action for the purpose of academic research, in which his/her son/daughter is intended to be involved during the educational activity carried out under the responsibility of the educational institution in which the aforementioned student studies and which is not carried out solely for the needs of the aforementioned
Details of cases in which Helsinki approval is required as a threshold condition for reviewing a permit application
Below are the details of the cases in which a permit applicant must provide a Helsinki Declaration (Ministry of Health) as a prerequisite for reviewing his/her application to conduct research in or through educational institutions:
1. Request to perform a medical test (e.g., blood test, oral health test, sleep quality test in a sleep laboratory, hearing test), excluding height and weight measurements;
2. Request to perform a test/measurement that is not medical, but participation in it may have an impact on the health of the subject (e.g., as a result of unusual physical activity, as a result of using a device that is not routine, as a result of the health status of the candidates to be tested);
3. Request to perform a test, the information obtained from which may have medical significance, including drawing conclusions in the field of genetics (e.g., performing hair samples or saliva samples from which it is possible to learn about hormonal development);
In cases where, according to the above criteria, doubt arises regarding the necessity of the Helsinki Declaration as a threshold condition for reviewing the application (for example, in a case where the use of a device that is not routinely used is requested, the potential medical consequences of which are not clear), it is recommended to contact the Office of the Chief Scientist before submitting the application in the system, for the purpose of prior consultation.
In cases where a supervisor approval form is required to be attached to an application for conducting research (such as an application for conducting a master’s thesis), it is not mandatory to submit the approval on official paper from the institution within which the supervision is being carried out.
However, the signer of the approval is required to indicate the name of the academic institution, faculty, and department/department within which the research work is being conducted.
In all cases where parental consent is required to include their child in the study, the process of contacting parents can be carried out digitally in accordance with the following procedure:
1. The researcher will contact the administration of the relevant educational institution and request that the teacher(s) of the class(es) in which the study is intended to be conducted send the parents an email or WhatsApp message in the following language:
Dear Parent, Hello,
researcher _________ [name of researcher], from ___________ (name of academic institution) will be contacting me in the coming days with a request to send parents of students in the class by email/WhatsApp an explanation of a study to be conducted on the subject of ___________ and to request their consent to include their child in this study. If you agree to the provision of your contact information for the purpose of sending the letter by the researcher, the ‘Agree’ request for this message
will clarify that the contact information will be used by the researcher solely for the purpose of sending a letter explaining the study to parents who will consent to its delivery, and will be destroyed by him immediately thereafter.
Best regards,
__________________, class teacher
2. The researcher will contact each parent who agreed to provide their contact information separately and send them the letter of contact for parents and the consent letter (via email attachment or as a picture on WhatsApp). The file title will be the name of the study.
The contact to the parent will be worded as follows:
This message is accompanied by an explanation of the research on the subject of _________ [name of the study] and a consent form. If you agree to your child’s participation in the study and confirm the contents of the consent form, please reply “Agree” and state in your response your full name, your child’s full name, the grade level and equivalent in which he or she is studying (e.g., D/2) and the name of the school.
Best regards,
[Researcher’s name]
3. The parent’s consent will be documented by the researcher by taking a screenshot of the parent’s response along with the researcher’s contact with him/her, and a copy of the above documentation will be transferred to the educational institution for safekeeping.
The researcher will be invited to an online consultation, which will take place within a week of receiving the email and will also include additional researchers, who will forward their request (as additional researchers contact us that week).
It is hoped that this service, among other things, will assist (a) each participant in the specific aspects of his/her request raised for discussion (b) in thinking about existing guidelines and (c) in creating a ‘fruitful connection’ between researchers from different institutions, who will be exposed to each other during the online discourse.
Questions and answers from the Office of the Chief Scientist of the Ministry of Education – see here
