2. INTRODUCTION
For one to conduct a good research is
supposed to conform to moral, ethical and
legal standards of the society where the
research is being carried. Therefore, when
conducting research subjects should be
protected at all times and taken care of their
welfare
3. • BROAD OBJECTIVE
• By the end of this presentation students should
acquire knowledge on ethical issues in research.
4. specific objectives
• Define concepts
• Describe ethical principles used in research
• Explain major ethical issues in research
5. DEFINITION OF CONCEPTS
Ethics
These are moral principles that govern a persons behavior or the
conducting of an activity
Ethical issues
Refers to a circumstance in which moral conflict arises in research
6. Research ethics
• Refers to a system of moral values that is concerned
with the degree to which research procedures adhere
to professional legal and social obligations to study
participants
• It provides respect and dignity for human life
7. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES
• These are fundamental guidelines that are used in
decision making
• The ethical principles used in decision making in
research are the following
1. Non maleficence
This principle emphasize that the researcher should
avoid harming the participants knowingly or
unknowingly
8. 2. Beneficence
• This imposes the duty on the researcher to minimize
harm and maximize benefits.
• This is so, as human research should be intended to
produce benefits for participants in a more common
situation for others
9. 3. Autonomy or self determination
• Research participants values and decision should be
respected.
4. Justice
• This guides a researcher to treat all humans equally
10. SCENARIO 1
• Nazi doctors and researchers performed painful and
horrific experiments on thousands of imprisoned
people in concentration camps from 1942 to
1945.These experiments were inhumane and resulted
in trauma, permant disabilities, or death in many
cases.
• The participation of prisoners was always forced, as
consent was never sought.Participants often belonged
to marginalized communities, including Jewish people,
disabled people and Roma people.
11. SCENARIO II
• TUSKEGEE SYPHILIS STUDY
• The Tuskegee syphilis study was an American public
health study that violated research ethics throughout its
40 year run from 1932 to 1972.In this study, 600 young
black men were deceived into participating with a
promise of free healthcare that was never fulfilled.
• In reality, the actual goal was to study the effects of the
disease when left untreated, and the researchers never
informed participants about their diagnoses or the
research aims.
12. CONT……..
Although participants experienced severe health problems,
including blindness and other complications, the
researchers only pretended to provide medical care
When treatment became possible in 1943, 11 years after
the study began , none of their participants were offered it,
despite their health conditions and high risk of death.
By the end of the study, 128 participants had died of
syphilis or related complications. The study ended only
once its existence was made public and it was judged to be
“medically unjustified.”
13. ETHICAL ISSUES IN RESEARCH
The following are the major ethical issues in nursing
research
A. Informed consent
• This is an agreement to participate in a study given by
a competent individual after being given all the
necessary information regarding the research and has
adequately understood the information
14. • Informed consent is one of the means by which
participant’s right to autonomy is protected
Elements of informed consent
1. Voluntary participation
• This is to say participation should be by choice not by
force. The consent should be given without any direct
or indirect coercion/ inducement
15. Note: coercion means the use of physical or moral force
to compel a person into doing something or to abstain
from doing something . Thereby, depriving that person
the exercise of free will
16. 2. Research description
• this will involve giving an introduction stating the
purpose, duration of the study, explanation about the
selection of the research subjects and procedures that
will be followed
3. Description of risks and compesation
• it is essential to describe any physical harm or
discomfort, any invasion of privacy and any threat to
dignity as well as how the subjects will be
compensated in that case
17. 4. Description of benefits
• the subject/participants need to know any expected
benefits either to the subjects or to science by gaining
new knowledge
5. Available alternatives
• participants must be given treatment alternatives that
exist and this should enable the participants to choose
between research procedures and standard
procedures
18. 6. Confidentiality
• the researcher should inform participants that
information obtained during a research will be kept as
a secret
19. B. Beneficence and non
maleficence
• researchers have an obligation to avoid, prevent or
minimize harm(non maleficence) in studies with
humans.
• Participants should not be subjected to unnecessary
risks of harm or discomfort and their participation
must be essential to achieving societal important aims
that could not otherwise be realized.
20. • In research with humans, harm and discomfort can be
physical( e.g. fatigue, injury), emotional( e.g. stress,
fear), social( e.g. loss of social support) or financial(
e.g. loss of wages)
• Ethical researchers must use strategies to minimize all
types of harm and discomfort, even ones that are
temporary.
21. • Research should be conducted only by qualified
people, specially if potentially dangerous equipment
or specialized procedures are used.
• Ethical researchers must be prepared to terminate a
study if they suspect that continuation would result in
injury
22. C. Respect for confidentiality and
anonymity
• confidentiality is the researchers ability to keep data
protected
• Anonymity is the researchers ability to keep subjects nameless
• Confidentiality and anonymity are closely related. Anonymity is
protected when subject identity cannot be linked with persons
responses
23. • In anonymity researcher could not identify participant
while in confidentiality the researcher can identify the
participant but take action to avoid revealing
participants identity to anyone else
• The researcher uses code numbers or pseudonyms to
identify collected data rather than participant names.
24. CONT………………
• For instance, you are conducting a survey with college
students. You ask participants to enter demographic
information including their age, gender, nationality
and ethnicity. With all this information, it may be
possible for other people to identify individual
participants, so you pseudomise the data(use fiction
names).
25. D. Respect for privacy
• Privacy is the freedom an individual has to determine time,
extent and general circumstances under which private
information will be shared with or withheld from others
• It is believed that invasion of privacy happens when private
information such as belief, attitudes, opinions and records, is
shared with others without the participants knowledge or
consent
26. • Subjects are not supposed to be spied on or observed or
watched without their knowledge
• All data collected on subjects is supposed to be kept very safely
to protect privacy
E. Vulnerable groups
• these are groups of people that are unable to protect their
rights and welfare
27. • These groups of people include:
captive population(prisoners and students)
Mentally ill persons
Aged people
Children
Critically ill
Poor people
28. • There is increased concern about these vulnerable
groups and whether it is ethical or not for them to be
used as research objects . This is because of their
inability to give informed consent and also to their
need for further protection and sensitivity from
researcher as they are in a greater risk of being
deceived threatened or forced to participate
29. F. results communication
• the way research results are communicated can
sometimes involve ethical issues
• Good research communication is honest , reliable, and
credible.
• It is best to make the results as transparent as possible
and avoid plagiarism and research misconduct wherever
possible
30. • Research misconduct means making up of falsifying
data, manipulating data analysis, misinterpreting
results in research reports
31. IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCH
ETHICS
• They promote the aims of the research such as
expanding knowledge.
• They support the values required for collaborative
work, such as mutual respect and fairness. This is
essential because scientific research depends on
collaboration between researchers and groups
32. • They mean that researchers can be held accountable
for their actions. Many researchers are supported by
public money and regulations on conflicts of interest,
misconduct and research involving humans necessary
to ensure that money is spent appropriately
• They ensure that the public can trust researcher. For
people to support and fund research, they have to be
confident in it.
33. • They support importance of social and moral values.
For example the principle of doing no harm to others.
34. summary
Ethical issues are circumstances in which
moral conflict arises. These issues are not an
exceptional in research. The major ethical
issues in research are informed consent,
beneficence and non maleficence, respect for
confidentiality, respect for privacy, vulnerable
groups, and result communication
35. REFERRENCE
Benard,Lo(2010).Ethical Issues in Clinical Research:A Practical Guide. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, London
Denise, F.P and Cheryl, T.B (2017).Nursing Research. Generating and Assessing for Nursing Practice, 10th ED,Wolter Kluwer, Lippincott Williams
and Wilkins
Fouka,G.(2011).Major ethical issues in conducting research. Health science journal.vol5.
Craven.(2013).Fundamentals of nursing. Human health&function.China.Wolter Kluwer
Eide P,et al.Nursing Ethics. 2008. PMID:18272610Review
Resnick D.B,.(2015).What is Ethical in Research and Why it is important.?
36. GROUP 6
Group members
Chifundo Nyozani BScNM/21/134
Sellah Mndoka BScNM/21/102
Julita Beckie BScNM/21/007
Faith Phuka BScNM/21/143
Jane Kawonga BScNM/20/157
Gloria M. Banda BScNM/20/153
Martha Jamillana BScNM/21/041
