For many researchers and the community, even some members of research ethics review committees, the review process is a bit like a black box. Researchers submit an application and out the other side of the box (the review) comes a letter that simply says “please explain,” followed by a list of items. What happened within the box, particularly what happened during the committee meeting’s discussion, is frequently unknown. The letters are often decontextualise. The researcher must use this decontextualised information in the letter to try and figure out what the committee’s questions or concerns are all about. In their attempts to address the issues, they may not actually address them. In fact, they may raise new questions.
One of the purposes of this research was to take a look inside the ethics review black box. This was to try and better understand the review process and better understand why some kinds of research, especially that associated with particular research paradigms and potentially vulnerable populations, seems to present particular problems for ethics review committees, research gatekeepers, and the researchers involved.
This project, an ethnography of the ethical review process for research involving humans, involves an anthropological analysis of research ethics and the ethical review process as culture and cultural process. It does this through document reviews, case studies, key informant interviews, and observations of the ethical review process. One of its purposes is to better understand why some kinds of research, namely research involving alternative paradigms and that associated with sensitive populations, seem to present particular difficulties for ethical review committees, research gatekeepers, and the researchers involved. This research might help us better address the issues involved and allow the development of research and ethics programs, policies, applications, and educational efforts that are less problematic for all parties concerned. It is not about whether or not research and the ethical review process are ethical, but what are the cultural factors that influence ideas about ethics and the ethical assessment of research and how they may impact on contemporary research. |
