Human research ethics committees and ethical review: The changing research culture for social workers

ISSN： 0312-407X

Source： Australian Social Work, Vol.58, Iss.4, 2005-12, pp. : 370-383

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Abstract

Social workers have a long-standing concern with developing codes of ethics, which govern and protect those involved in practice and research scenarios. As more social workers engage in research, successfully negotiating the ethical review process becomes imperative. In Australia, the task of ensuring ethical compliance of research protocols resides with human research ethics committees (HREC) mandated under the National Health and Medical Research Council. However, given the scope for discretion exercised by HREC, this process can be intimidating to novice and experienced researchers. The review process needs to be understood in the context of Australian ethics policy, the roles and responsibilities, and cultures of HREC. This paper outlines practical strategies in preparing ethics protocols to increase the likelihood of successful review. To do this, social workers need to recognise the way policy, legal developments and risk management strategies influence the ethical review process.