Improving the Transparency of an Ethical Review Process: A Case Study

Transparency has been presented by governments and federations as a key instrument in the exercise of power within a democracy, as it is reputed to foster trust and to promote informed decision-making. However, the disclosure of an overwhelming amount of information without true understanding can hardly be considered as an example of transparency. In the present study, we apply usable transparency principles to the ethical review process of the Human Inspired Technology (HIT) Research Centre by designing, developing and testing a new tool aimed at aiding researchers in their submission for an ethical review. An experimental design is used to test the tool (i.e., a revised application form equipped with glossary callouts which serve as guidelines throughout the process) on a small sample of researchers. Data seems to suggest higher scores in both usability and transparency for participants who are provided with glossary callouts, than for those who are not. Furthermore, it may be the case that glossary callouts are actually useful in saving time during the completion of the process. Although further investigation is needed, these findings provide a useful insight on the effectiveness of this intervention and on our understanding of usable transparency.