Ethical Principles in Research

[Albert Marsh]

The involvement of human beings as subjects and participants in modern research has impacted on the emergence of ethical issues affecting participants, which should be taken into consideration in order to determine effectual, meaningful and high-quality research. Although researchers focus more on research methodology and outcomes and the expansion of the knowledge base, research ethics ensure that researchers, particularly nursing researchers, are responsible and accountable for guaranteeing safety, protecting the rights of the human subjects, and ensuring the accuracy of the data and information presented in the research (McKenna & Gray, 2018). Therefore, the practice to avoid ethical issues in nursing research is based on several principles, including justice, beneficence, and respect for human beings.

Nursing research is extremely important for the systematic collection and analysis of data and derivation of the best research evidence that can be used to optimize clinical practices and improve patients` health outcomes. According to Yip, Han, and Sng, (2016), researchers should adhere to established ethical principles that include respect for people, beneficence, justice, protection of the autonomy of the subjects, safeguarding the subjects from any harm, and protecting the human rights of the participants. Therefore, researchers are supposed to obtain informed consent from participants after providing all critical information for risk assessment, maintaining the confidentiality of sensitive personal information obtained from the subjects and protecting the health, dignity, life, and integrity of the subjects.

I believe that ethics in research have some gray areas. This is because some of the research practices consist ambiguous scenarios that are morally questionable. According to McCaig (2015), some gray areas in research ethics include altruism, inconsequential outcomes, and preserving the status quo. For instance, researchers may fail to evaluate questionable practices if they believe that these practices have inconsequential outcomes (McCaig, 2015). Therefore, although research ethics have been clearly cut, some aspects of research ethics are quite controversial.

In conclusion, the key ethical principles in research include beneficence, respect for human beings, and justice. In particular, nursing researchers are supposed to protect the participants of a research study from any physical or psychological harm, ensure the confidentiality of the critical information provided by the subjects during research, and obtain informed consent from participants in compliance with the established research ethical principles and guidelines. Nursing research ethics contain some gray areas since not all aspects have been clearly defined.

References

McCaig, A. (2015). Ethics of research not so black and white. Retrieved from http://news.rice.edu/2015/07/30/ethics-of-research-not-so-black-and...

McKenna, L. & Gray, R. (2018). The importance of ethics in research publications. Collegian Journal, 25(2), 147-148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colegn.2018.02.006

Yip, C., Han, N. R., & Sng, B. L. (2016). Legal and ethical issues in research. Indian journal of anaesthesia, 60(9), 684-688.

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