A research note: Using ethics memoranda of understanding in community-based research

Because university-based research ethics committees tend to focus on ethical dilemmas common in biomedical research in laboratory settings, a growing number of researchers and community-based organizations have articulated the need for alternatives to such committees in community-based research. Whi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inMethodological innovations Vol. 15; no. 2; pp. 178 - 190
Main Author Su, Celina
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London, England SAGE Publications 01.07.2022
Sage Publications Ltd
SAGE Publishing
Subjects
Academic staff
Biomedicine
Committees
Community organizations
Community research
Emotional labor
Emotions
Ethical dilemmas
Ethics
Ethics committees
Friendship
Medical research
Reciprocity
Research ethics
Researchers
Social research
participatory action research
Institutional Review Boards
memoranda of understanding
human subjects review
research ethics
Community-based research
Online AccessGet full text
ISSN2059-7991
2059-7991
DOI10.1177/20597991221101564

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Summary:Because university-based research ethics committees tend to focus on ethical dilemmas common in biomedical research in laboratory settings, a growing number of researchers and community-based organizations have articulated the need for alternatives to such committees in community-based research. While there is a robust academic literature on ethical dilemmas in such social research, there remains a need for practical tools to use in collaborations between communities and researchers. In this research note, I present potential memoranda of understanding between academics and communities that might be used when formal community-based research ethics committees do not exist. I focus on two hypothetical scenarios, in which a researcher works with an established group or organization, and in which a researcher is just one of several researchers working with the same community. I forward a framework that conceptualizes researchers as critical friends of communities in their research, highlighting questions of emotional labor, community benefits, and what I call generative conflicts. I hope that researchers and community-based organizations find this note to be a useful starting point for constructive dialogs on reciprocity in community-based research.
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ISSN:2059-7991
2059-7991
DOI:10.1177/20597991221101564