Making the Move to a Learning System of Research Ethics

Not much of what is done to protect and engage participants in clinical research is firmly grounded in evidence. Furthermore, it can be difficult to conduct research to generate that evidence-especially if doing so challenges norms or involves not doing things researchers often do. Cultivating a learning system of research ethics is important and should not be so hard. This piece describes some examples of attempts to generate evidence regarding recruitment and consent that have encountered significant barriers and is a call to recognize the importance of collaboration and movement toward more of a "learning system" of research ethics.