Conflicting interests: Critiquing the place of “institutional reputation” in research ethics reviews

Abstract

Going through Research Ethics Boards (REB) and being held accountable to the highest ethical standards to conduct research with human subjects is commonplace. The goal of such a process helps ensure the selection and achievements not only of morally acceptable ends, but also of acceptable means to those ends when conducting research. Ultimately, REBs must pass judgment about the acceptability of harms and benefi ts to participants as they relate to research processes and outcomes. In this paper, we explore the implication of integrating “institutional reputation” as a category of analysis in the ethical review process. Informed by a recent Research Ethics Board (REB) review, we seek to engage with the readership in a constructive refl ection on the concept of institutional reputation as a source of confl icting interests in research ethics review process.