Research ethics and scientific rigor are deeply intertwined, and relevant to researchers in any scientific field. However, as recent high-profile cases have shown, research ethics are poorly understood and/or practiced. Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) are in place to improve research ethics but without a good understanding of what research ethics are, ethics remains open to interpretation and is largely subjective. Hence, IRBs often add bureaucratic hurdles without helping, and possibly harming, ethical conduct of research. Against this backdrop, using case studies, I will first provide a historical perspective of the foundation and evolution of IRBs, which explain many of the idiosyncrasies observed in IRBs today. I will then cover the guiding principles of research ethics and the functioning of IRBs, with a special focus on IITB’s IRB. The talk may leave you with more questions than answers but will force you to think and do better.
IIT Bombay
Dr. T. T. Niranjan is an Associate Professor of Operations Management at SJMSOM, IIT Bombay. One of the pioneers and key contributors to the emerging research domain of neuro-operations-management, he is also a founding member of the SJMSOM Neuro-Behavioral Lab and IIT Bombay’s Institutional Review Board. Previously he served on the IEC. His research appears in top-tier journals such as Decision Sciences, Harvard Business Review, Journal of Operations Management, Journal of Supply Chain Management, and Production and Operations Management. A recipient of the Outstanding Reviewer Award at Decision Sciences, he serves on the editorial review boards of Journal of Business Logistics and Journal of Operations Management and is a Regional Editor for the Journal of Supply Chain Management.