Research consent and data protection in Ghana: a guide for researchers

People who take part in your research trust you with their stories, their faces and their voices. Asking properly first is how you keep that trust, and it's also what the law expects.

Good consent also makes better research. People who know what's happening, and that they can stop, relax and tell you more.

This guide is practical advice, not legal advice. If your research involves sensitive topics or large amounts of personal data, talk to a lawyer or Ghana's Data Protection Commission.

Ghana's Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843) covers anyone who collects or uses personal information about people in Ghana. The Data Protection Commission enforces it. A few points matter most for researchers:

• Organisations that process personal data have to register with the Data Protection Commission as data controllers. Registration lasts two years, then you renew it. Check whether your organisation is registered.
• Collect personal information for a clear purpose, and only what you need for it.
• Keep it accurate and secure, and don't keep it longer than you need.
• People have the right to see the information you hold about them, and to ask you to correct or delete it.
• Some information is “special personal data” and needs extra care, usually the person's clear consent. That includes health, religion or beliefs, ethnic origin or race, political opinions, trade union membership, sex life and criminal records, and information about children.

If your participants live in another country, that country's data protection law may apply too.

Consent only counts if people understand what they're agreeing to. Before the session, tell them in plain words:

• Who you are, and who the research is for.
• What the research is about, and what you'll use it for.
• What you'll record: voice, camera, screen, notes.
• Who will see the recording, and that it won't be made public.
• How long you'll keep it, and how they can ask you to delete it.
• That taking part is their choice, and they can skip any question or stop at any time.

Then get a clear yes, and keep a record of it. Silence, or simply turning up, isn't consent.

Say something like this at the start of every session, even when people agreed on a form beforehand:

• “Thanks for joining. I'm [name] from [organisation]. We're talking to people about [topic] to help us improve [product].”
• “I'd like to record this call, your voice and your camera if it's on, so I don't have to take notes the whole time. Only our research team will see it, and we won't share it publicly.”
• “We'll keep it until [the end of the project], then delete it. You can ask us to delete it sooner.”
• “You can skip any question, turn your camera off or stop at any time. Is it OK to record?”

Wait for a clear yes before you start. If they say no, don't record. You can still take notes, if they agree.

Every extra detail you collect is one more thing to protect. Before you add a screener question or a profile requirement, ask: do we need this to answer our research question?

• Ask for age ranges, not dates of birth, unless the exact age matters.
• Don't ask for ID numbers, passwords, PINs or payment details.
• Only ask about health, religion or other special personal data when your research is about it, and say why you're asking.
• Don't recruit children unless your study is designed for them, with a parent's or guardian's consent.

• Keep recordings in one secure place your team controls, not on personal phones, laptops or chat groups.
• Give access only to people who need it for the research.
• In reports, use quotes without names, or a made-up name like “Participant 3”.
• Blur or cut faces and voices before you share clips outside your team, unless the person agreed.
• Delete recordings when the project is done, or when someone asks.

Never publish a participant's name, face or voice without their permission. A slide deck that gets forwarded is publishing.

Before every call, participants see a consent screen. It tells them what's recorded, that only your team sees it and it's never made public, and that they can turn their camera off, skip a question, leave at any time or ask for their recording to be deleted after the study. Recording starts only after they tick “I agree to be recorded for this study”. If they don't agree, nothing is recorded. Task tests ask for consent the same way before they start.

• You see each participant's first name and last initial, the profile details that matter for your study and their screener answers. You never see their password or mobile money number.
• Recordings, transcripts and notes stay with your team.
• Our participants are 18 or older.
• You're responsible for how your team uses participants' information, in line with our Privacy policy and the data protection law that applies to you.

Our Privacy policy explains what we collect, which providers process it and how people can see, fix or delete their information.

1. Check whether your organisation is registered with the Data Protection Commission.
2. Collect only the details you need for your research question.
3. Before each session, say who you are, what you'll record, who sees it and how long you'll keep it.
4. Tell people they can skip questions or stop at any time, then get a clear yes.
5. Keep recordings in one secure place, shared only with your research team.
6. Use quotes without names in reports, and never publish faces or voices without permission.
7. Delete recordings when the project ends, or when someone asks.