| Popis: |
This chapter offers a critical analysis of the role that institutional review boards (IRBs) play in the research process. It identifies some of the main flaws and biases in the IRB review process. Particular emphasis is placed on the problem of ensuring that human subjects have given informed consent. The challenges may include language barriers, lack of familiarity with scientific research protocols, and overt or subtle forms of coercion. Some of notorious historical examples of failure to obtain informed human subjects in scientific experimentation are considered. When scholars collaborate on projects with colleagues overseas, serious questions arise as to whether the researchers should be required to make occasional on-site visits to monitor compliance with ethics standards, whether failure to fulfill this responsibility should require IRBs of universities to withhold approval for such research, and finally, how to evaluate human rights conditions in countries that do not adhere to international standards. As research is becoming more transnational, the challenges posed by these collaborations across borders deserve much more attention. To address widely recognized problems in the research process, more and more world conferences on scientific integrity are being convened. There is an urgent need to find legitimate ways to protect scientific integrity and human subjects via policies that can be enforced. |
