A discipline-relevant conceptual framework for research ethics review in economic sciences

This article aims to contribute to the discourse on the growing frustration amongst researchers about compulsory institutional research ethics review. The question that directs this article is to what extent research in the economic sciences should be subjected to the widely used biomedical model of research ethics review. A subsequent question is whether a discipline-relevant model would not be more appropriate for such review. To this end, a case study of the 2012 volume of the journal Review of Social Economy was selected for a systematic content analysis of the articles reporting on economics research. The eligibility criteria most commonly used by research ethics committees have been applied in this analysis. The study has shown that although blanket exemption for research in the economic sciences might not be appropriate, a discipline-relevant risk assessment framework for research involving human subjects in economics research is necessary. This article argues for a reasonable and non-frustrating research ethics review process applicable to the level of the potential risk to harm human subjects.