Research Ethics Paper

Research Ethics Paper

Research ethics refers to the set of ethical guidelines governing how scientific research should be conducted and disseminated. According to Drolet et al. (2023), research ethics ensures scientific integrity, human rights, dignity, and collaboration between science and society. Research ethics have evolved to include various aspects of human rights. This discussion explores how learning about the history of research ethics impacted my view of research, discusses the steps taken by the researchers in the articles collected for the PICOT question to protect the rights of human subjects, and describes common disparities in research.

Learning the history of research ethics has enabled me to appreciate the steps taken to ensure human rights are respected during research. For instance, the Belmont report has been developed as a foundational document to guide human subjects research ethics. The report derives research ethical principles from bioethical principles such as respect for persons, informed consent, beneficence, justice, and assessment of risks and benefits in research. I am now more careful when conducting research that entails human subjects to ensure I get my results, protect their human rights, and minimize risks in the process.

There are various steps that the researchers in my PICOT question articles used to protect the rights of human subjects in the research. These measures included seeking the approval of the Internal Review Board (IRB) before conducting research involving human subjects and providing informed consent from the participants. The participants were allowed to participate voluntarily and choose what would not happen to them regarding the research studies. In addition, the researchers should treat the participants as autonomous agents. Armond et al. (2021) note that treating participants as autonomous agents aligns with respect for persons’ ethical principles.

Various disparities in research exist. Disparities in research entail the diversities or variations in populations or participants involved in research. Two of the studies I reviewed for the PICOT question had racial and ethical participant disparities. Kim and Lee (2020) used a diverse student population to study safe medication administration confidence, while Lance et al. (2021) studied medical error reduction in a diverse patient population. These studies showed significant trends in medical error reduction and confidence in safe medication administration in different races and ethnic groups.

Researchers should respect the different research ethics while conducting research involving human subjects. The Belmont report is the current ethical research document that guides research involving human subjects. Considering different disparities in research is essential in identifying differences among diverse participant groups.

References

Armond, A. C. V., Gordijn, B., Lewis, J., Hosseini, M., Bodnár, J. K., Holm, S., & Kakuk, P. (2021). A scoping review of the literature featuring research ethics and research integrity cases. BMC Medical Ethics, 22(1), 50. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-021-00620-8

Drolet, M. J., Rose-Derouin, E., Leblanc, J. C., Ruest, M., & Williams-Jones, B. (2023). Ethical Issues in Research: Perceptions of Researchers, Research Ethics Board Members and Research Ethics Experts. Journal of Academic Ethics, 21(2), 269–292. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-022-09455-3

Kim, K., & Lee, I. (2020). Medication error encouragement training: A quasi-experimental study. Nurse Education Today, 84, 104250. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2019.104250

Lance, S., Travers, J., & Bourke, D. (2021). Reducing medication errors for hospital inpatients with Parkinsonism. Internal Medicine Journal, 51(3), 385–389. https://doi.org/10.1111/imj.14782

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1. Describe how learning about the history of research ethics impacted your view of research.
2. Consider the research articles you collected for your PICOT question. Discuss steps researchers took to protect the rights of human subjects. What additional measures would you recommend?
3. Describe common disparities in research. Did you find evidence of disparities in the articles you reviewed for your PICOT question? If so, what were your findings?