Strain a gnat & swallow a camel?

Ethical review of humanities and social sciences fit for purpose

The Swedish Ethical Review Act and its application have been much criticised - not least from researchers in the humanities and social sciences (including jurisprudence). This project aims to conduct a systematic investigation into the Swedish Ethical Review Act and its application, particularly in the context of research in the humanities and social sciences. The project addresses three key questions:

1. What requirements does the Swedish Ethical Review Act place on such research, and what values does the current ethical review system aim to safeguard?
2. What are the benefits and costs of the current system?
   
3. Is it possible, and if so how, to ensure, in a more appropriate way that such research is conducted in an ethically acceptable manner?

The investigation involves a comprehensive analysis of the law and its application from both legal and ethical perspectives. Additionally, the project includes studying Swedish researchers' experiences through focus groups to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the current system. The results are expected to have direct implications for the Swedish system and broader relevance to similar ethics review systems internationally. The methodology combines approaches from jurisprudence, analytical philosophy, and empirical qualitative methods.