Chapter 5: Research as a Social Practice: A Response to ‘Responsible to Whom? Obligations to Participants and Society in Social Science Research’ by Matt Sleat

This chapter responds to Matt Sleat’s chapter on appropriate ethical regulation for the social sciences (2017). I argue that research is a social practice which brings the researcher into relationships with a variety of institutional and individual actors including, but not limited to, research participants. In this context, I consider the range of ethical duties which may arise and the principles and values which may usefully underpin the conduct of social science research. In particular, I argue that the biomedical model should not be discarded but can be built upon to produce a more appropriate ethical framework for the social sciences.