Formal research-ethics committees in Canada now function as an industry, costing over thirty-five million dollars annually. The Seduction of Ethics argues that while ethics codes are alluring to the public, they fuel moral panic and increase demands for institutional accountability. Will C. van den Hoonaard explores the research-ethics review process itself by analysing the moral cosmology and practices of ethics committees regarding research and researchers.

The Seduction of Ethics also investigates how researchers have tailored their approaches in response to technical demands — leading social science disciplines to resemble each other more closely and lose the richness of their research. Van den Hoonaard reveals an idiosyncratic and inconsistent world in which researchers employ particular strategies of avoidance or partial or full compliance as they seek approval from ethics committees.

Will C. van den Hoonaard is a professor emeritus of sociology at the University of New Brunswick and the author or editor of eight books. Most recently, he authored a series on ethics in research, including the acclaimed The Seduction of Ethics. His current interests cover qualitative research, research ethics, Bahá’is, human rights, and the world of map-makers. He is a Woodrow Wilson Fellow and also the recipient of the 2013 Annual Award for Lifetime Achievement chosen by the Health Improvement Institute, Bethasda, Maryland.

Will C. van den Hoonaard's profile page

• Commended, Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction Charles Horton Cooley Award

‘The Seduction of Ethics  is an easily-read volume suitable for students, professionals, and even lay readers…The logic is flawless, the data are compelling, and – above-all the reader is left with a sense that things can be changed.’

Symbolic Interaction, Online - February 2014

‘Seduction of Ethics is grounded in a solid theoretical and conceptual framework. The logic is flawless, the data are compelling, and above all the reader is left with a sense that things can be changed.’

Symbolic Interaction, vol 37:02:2014

‘Van den Hoonaard offers a remarkable study from the methodological point of view… Hoonaard’s contribution to the debate on approaches to ethical governance in the social sciences demarcates a new stage.’

Transnational legal Theory, vol 4:01:2013

‘The Seduction of Ethics is a powerful, combined-arms assault on the system of ethics review of the social sciences.’

Contemporary Sociology; vol 41:05:2012