The Foundation for Social Welfare Services supports students and/or other individuals who would like to carry out research within it, by collecting data from FSWS staff members and/or service users.
Interested individuals are to contact the FSWS' Research Office since approval to conduct any research must first be obtained.
Research requests are reviewed to make sure that the necessary ethical standards are adhered to, to ascertain that the study would not have a negative effect on service users or service provision and to check whether participants are potentially available. However, the approval of a research request does not automatically imply that participants will be available for research. Potential participants retain the right to refuse to participate.
Given that only a limited number of studies can be carried out in any given period, the FSWS gives priority to research studies covering topics identified as most important by the FSWS' Agencies. Thus, applicants are advised to check about these topics with the FSWS' Research Office, prior to choosing the area of study and prior to submitting a request.
Please note that requests are only considered if the research specifically requires FSWS staff and/or service users. Requests that target a broader population, (e.g., “all young people aged between 18 and 25" or “all couples in a romantic relationship") cannot be entertained.
All individuals who would like to conduct their research with FSWS should fill in a research online request form.
Applicants are also to attach their:
1. participant information sheet (in both Maltese and English)
2. consent forms (in both Maltese and English)
3. interview guidelines and/or questionnaires (in Maltese and English)
4. Proof that the research proposal has been approved by their institution's research ethics committee (where applicable)
5. and any other documents providing further information about the research.
Applicants are then to send an email to research.fsws-headoffice@gov.mt to confirm that the request form and the necessary documentation have been received.
Prior to submitting a request, research request applicants should be aware of the timeframes below:
- The FSWS endeavours to inform applicants about the outcome of the review process within four weeks from receipt of all documents. However, there may be extenuating factors which may delay the process.
- If the research request is approved, and the FSWS needs to identify and/or contact potential research participants, please be aware that this can take some time. Please contact the required service in good time to allow an adequate period for potential research participants to be identified and contacted.
For further information, kindly contact Mr Ronald Balzan via email at research.fsws-headoffice@gov.mt or telephone on +356 22588938.
Further Terms and Conditions Related to Non-Student Research Requests
Note
The first step for non-student research requests to be considered would be for the researcher/s to send an email providing basic information about the aims of the study and about what the involvement of the FSWS would entail (not more than 3 – 4 paragraphs). There is no need for the Non-Student Research Request Form (Appendix C) mentioned above to be sent at this stage.
If/once requested, the required documentation can then be sent, and the below applies. (NOTE: Even if the Non-Student Research Request Form and other research-related documents (e.g. interview guide, consent forms, etc) are requested, the FSWS still reserves the right to refuse the request.)
For non-student research requests to be accommodated, there is a processing fee of €100 which will be forwarded to Appoġġ's Children's Fund (https://fsws.gov.mt/en/acd/Pages/Children-Fund.aspx)
Should staff overtime be required to accommodate the request, this cost will also be included in the charge. Should the request be accepted, the applicant will be notified beforehand in order to be able to decide whether to proceed with the research or not.
The charge is to be paid via a bank transfer as per details below:
- BOV Account IBAN Number: MT05VALL22013000000040025010983
A receipt against payment will be provided. Please note that payment will only need to be made if the FSWS approves the request. Applicants will be informed in writing about the outcome of their request and if the request is approved information will be provided about the way forward.
Please also note that even if the request is approved, the FSWS cannot guarantee that potential participants will be identified or that they would want to participate.
Should FSWS' contribution towards the research not be possible due to difficulties in recruiting participants/respondents, payment will be refunded.
