From Research Ethics
For decades, scholars in the social sciences and humanities have questioned the appropriateness and utility of prior review of their research by human subjects’ ethics committees. This paper outlines criticisms and limitations of ethics committees. It suggests there are better options. Most critics of the current system of ethics review acknowledge the dangers of unethical research in the social sciences and humanities, but they see the current system of ethics review as a poor way to address those dangers. Embedded in their criticism are a number of potential alternatives to the status quo.
