Ethics of Nursing Research

IMPORTANCE OF ETHICS IN RESEARCH (Resnik, 2015)

1. Ethics promotes the pursuit of knowledge and truth and the avoidance of error. It promotes the
values that are essential in collaborative work. Research often involves a great deal of
cooperation and coordination among people in different fields or disciplines. Important values
are trust, accountability, mutual respect, and fairness.
2. Many of the ethical norms help to ensure that researchers are held accountable to the public.
3. Adherence to ethical principles also helps build public support for research. People are more
likely to fund researches that promote a variety of important moral and social values such as
social responsibility, human rights, animal welfare, health, and safety.

ETHICAL CODES AND POLICIES FOR RESEARCH

Given the importance of ethics in the conduct of research in nursing, many professional
associations, government agencies and universities have come up with the following codes
and policies for research

1. Honesty. Maintain honesty in all communications, e.g., when reporting data, results and
procedures. Never fabricate, falsify or misrepresent data.
2. Objectivity. Avoid biases in the experimental design, data analysis interpretation, expert
testimony and other aspects of research.
3. Integrity. Keep promises and agreements. Act with sincerity and strive for consistency of
thought and action.
4. Care. Avoid careless errors and negligence. Critically examine your own work and the works of
your peers. Keep good records of research activities.
5. Openness. Share data, results, ideas and resources. Be open to criticism and new ideas.
6. Respect for intellectual properly. Honor patents and copyright. Do not use published or
unpublished data, methods or results without permission. Give credit where credit is due. Give
proper acknowledgement.
7. Confidentiality. Protect confidential communications and documents
8. Responsible publication. Publish in order to advance research and scholarship. Avoid wasteful
and duplicative publication.
9. Responsible mentoring. Help educate, mentor and advise students
10. Respect for colleagues. Treat peers fairly.
11. Social responsibility. Strive to promote social good and prevent social harm.
12. Non-discrimination. All those eligible to participate in the research must be allowed to do so.
13. Competence. Maintain and improve your own professional competence and expertise.
14. Legality. Know and obey relevant laws and institutional and government policies.
15. Human subjects’ protection. Minimize harm and risk to human lives; instead, maximize benefits
and respect human dignity, privacy and autonomy
RIGHTS OF RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS (Trochim, 2006; Smith, 2003 Polit, 2006)

1. Voluntary Participation. Any person need not to be coerced into participating in any research
undertaking.
2. Informed Consent. Prospective research participants must be fully informed about the
procedures and risks involved in research. Their consent to participate must be secured.
3. Risk of Harm. Harm, be it physical, financial or psychological, must not be experienced by the
participants. The principle of non-maleficence provide that it is the researcher’s duty to avoid,
prevent, or minimize harm in studying participants.
4. Confidentiality. Participants must be assured that identifying information will not be made
available to anyone who is not directly involved in the study.
5. Anonymity. Participants must remain anonymous throughout the study, as possible, even to the
researchers themselves.

Unethical Activities in Research

The following are some common breaches in ethics:

1. Publishing the same paper in two different journals without informing the editors.
2. Failing to inform the collaborator of one’s intent to file a patent in order to become the sole
proponent/inventor.
3. Including a colleague as an author in a paper in return for a favor even though the colleague did
not contribute to the paper.
4. Discussing with your colleague data from the paper that you are reviewing for a journal.
5. Trimming outlines from a data set without providing sufficient justification.
6. Using inappropriate statistical techniques in order to obtain favorable results and enhance the
significance of one’s research.
7. Making the results of the study publicly known without first giving peers the opportunity to
review the work.
8. Failing to acknowledge the contributions of other people in the field.
9. Making derogatory comments and personal attacks in your review of authors submission.
10. Injudicious and wasteful use of animals in research
References:

Cristobal, A., & Cristobal, M.C., (2009). Guide in research writing: Preparing the

nursing thesis proposal. Quezon City: C & E Publishing, Inc.

Polit, D., & Beck, C. (2012). Essentials of nursing research. Ethics, 23(2), 145-160.

Resnik, D. B. (2018). The ethics of research with human subjects: Protecting people, advancing science,

promoting trust (Vol. 74). Springer.

Smith, P.E. (2005). Taylor’s clinical nursing skills. Philadephia, PA: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins

Trochim, W. M. (2006). Ethics in research. EF Artig.