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A growing body of literature has taken issue with research ethics governance in the social sciences. In response, Mark Sheehan, Michael Dunn and Kate Sahan from the Ethox Centre offer a defence of governance (and ethics review) in social research.
Writing in the Journal of Medical Ethics, the authors defend governance on the grounds that: 1) research is an institutionalised form of enquiry; 2) research is thus part of human flourishing; and 3) society ought to be concerned with the flourishing of its members.
For the full paper, visit http://jme.bmj.com/content/early/2017/10/10/medethics-2017-104443.long 
Cite as: Sheehan M, Dunn M, Sahan K In defence of governance: ethics review and social research. Journal of Medical Ethics Published Online First: 10 October 2017. doi: 10.1136/medethics-2017-104443

  • Susan Susan 16 Oct 2017

    Thanks Kate, this looks like a very interesting paper.