TRANSGANG project involves research on humans and data will be collected through ethnographic methods, all the TRANSGANG Researchers must follow the ethical guidelines on social sciences and humanities and research on human subjects, as it is discussed in the European Research Ethics guidelines, codes and regulations and in EU legislation. The code of ethics from the International Sociological Association, and the ethics statement of the American Anthropological Association will also be acknowledged. We recognize that the topic of youth lifestyles is in many ways a potentially sensitive issue and will be committed to taking proper care of the interests of the research participants before, during and after any research encounters and properly handling the research material. Thus, the main objective in the project is to ensure that each individual researcher will be aware of and committed to following the appropriate codes of ethics as required in the different phases and situations of research conducted within TRANSGANG.

The TRANSGANG project has 12 field sites spread across three continents. This presents both opportunities and challenges. We recognise that ethical and moral norms differ in important ways between national settings. We also value and recognise the expertise and experience of local researchers – all of whom are familiar with the language and culture of the localities in which they work. Local researchers have contributed to the development of the project ethical development to rely on their knowledge. Consequently, the project staff has design different protocols to be applied during the research in a culturally sensitive and appropriate way.