Ethics Review Board in Social Sciences and Humanities: theoretical issues and the implementation model in University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City

Abstract

Ethics Review Board, or Research Ethics Committee, or Institutional Review Board is responsible for reviewing and monitoring the conduct of research to ensure no physical or mental harms should occur to the research subjects as well as secure their rights and benefits in participating in the research. Such institution is widely available in research bodies and higher education institutions in developed countries. In the context of international integration in Vietnam, examining the Ethics Review Board model for establishing and operating it in Vietnamese universities has become an urgent need. This process put forward the necessity for understanding the history of the evolution of research ethics principles, international precedence, and the Vietnamese reality is a necessary step. This article is based on existing materials to present the historical evolution of research ethics principles, key internationally significant documents, international examples of Ethics Review Board in the world as well as the current situation in Vietnam, when a non-biomedical Board has been established by University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City. The article is also among the first of its kind in systematically examine Ethics Review Board in Vietnam, and it also calls for further research on such topic and how to implement the institution in conducting research in Vietnamese higher education institutions.