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This article argues that we could improve the design of research protocols by developing an awareness of and a responsiveness to the social contexts of all the actors in the research enterprise, including subjects, investigators, sponsors, and members of the community in which the research will be conducted. 'Social context' refers to the settings in which the actors are situated, including, but not limited to, their social, economic, political, cultural, and technological features. The utility of thinking about social contexts is introduced and exemplified by the presentation of a hypothetical case in which one central issue is limitation of the probability of injury to subjects by selection of individuals who are not expected to live long enough for the known risks of the study to become manifest as harms. Benefits of such considerations may include enhanced subject satisfaction and cooperation, community acceptance, and improved data quality, among other desirable consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article the authors respond to various commentaries on their article "Social Contexts Influence Ethical Considerations of Research" within the issue. They note that taken as a whole, the commentaries illustrate a recognition of the importance of the changeability, variability, and complexity of social contexts. Topics include the role of institutional review boards (IRBs) in social context review and why it is premature to assign social context review to a single agency.