Research ethics in a changing social sciences landscape

The role of research ethics committees, and research ethics issues more broadly are often not viewed in the context of the ongoing development of scientific methods and the academic community. This topic piece seeks to redress this gap. Building on my experiences of the current discourses from the United Kingdom, I begin with a brief outline of the changes we experience within the social sciences before exploring in more detail their impact on research ethics and the practices of research ethics committees. I conclude with recommendations for how the existing research ethics processes may be better futureproofed.