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Research ethics boards adjudicate between competing sacred discourses in the knowledge industries. The traditional rights of researchers to initiate and conduct enquiry, the rights of research subjects to have stewardship over their own experiential knowledge and the legal responsibilities of universities and other institutions often compete in the process of adjudication. The justification narrative leading to the establishment of boards is reviewed along with the governmental and institutional actions that have led to the ethics codes in existence. Also discussed is divisiveness between researchers and boards, changes brought about by shifting moral bases, trust and confidentiality, privacy, informed consent, the creation of cultures of research ethics and the unresolved issues awaiting future discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]