The Ethics of Research

Defining Ethics of Research

Nursing ethics is not a separate component that is to be added as part of scholarly inquiry. It is not just a separate concern or section regarding rights that must be addressed in the nurse researcher’s proposal, processes, and activities. Rather, it is in the author’s belief that the ethos or straight thinking in choosing various avenues of formal inquiry is grounded and embedded in the ontology, epistemology, and methodologies of the theories and belief systems that undergird and guide the science. The ethos or straight thinking conduct of a nurse researcher is an intentional, chosen way of being. It is firmly grounded in some philosophical belief system that personally informs the selection of the purposes, methods, phenomena of interest, processes, discoveries, and contributions of the scientific path of inquiry for scholars of the discipline. The standards for scientific merit and indicators of integrity in research are reflected in the philosophical belief system that uniquely undergirds and informs the researcher’s conduct during a formal research study.

Current global literature and discussions surrounding the ethics of research in the healthcare disciplines and specifically the ethics of nurse research is predominant with biomedical views from the philosophical branch of normative ethics. Textbooks outline the duties and responsibilities regarding the expectations for ethical researcher activities and processes. General guidelines and principles of what is considered to be ethical research conduct are found in codes, declarations, position statements, and oaths. Traditionally, it is believed that these guidelines serve as standards for appropriate conduct and straight thinking for nurse researchers, as well as for those who conduct biomedical and applied research. International codes such as the Nuremburg Code of 1949 and the Declaration of Helsinki which were adopted in 1964 and revised in 2000 by the World Medical Association emphasized ethical standards for conducting medical and nurse research. National codes of ethics serve as professional standards for practice, education, and research. The International Council of Nurses (ICN) in 2000 also provided principle elements that include standards for ethical conduct in research activities (Polit & Beck, 2008). What are the essential ethical dimensions of nursing research? What are potential implications for those who will choose an ethos of straight thinking in nurse research? To begin this exploration, the author discusses the dimensions of scientific merit, integrity, and the protection of human subjects from the perspective of the ethical tenets of the humanbecoming school of thought (Parse, 2010).

Typically, scientific merit, integrity, and the protection of human subjects have been articulated and defined as essential ethical dimensions of concern applicable to the conceptual, methodological, and interpretive processes of research (Parse, 2001). Biomedical ethical principles have traditionally been applied to support proposed research standards for ethical conduct in research. What are potential implications surrounding the sole use of biomedical ethical principles as guides for nurse research and other professional healthcare and biomedical research? What are possible meanings and implications for the conduct of nurse researchers and the involvement of human participants? Should new research ethics language and concepts be constructed and considered in light of a disciplinary theoretical perspective?

Ethics and Scientific Merit

Scientific merit refers to the correspondence, coherence, and pragmatics of research. A research study or inquiry with scientific merit enhances the knowledge base of the discipline by identifying phenomena relevant to the discipline, by using the language of the discipline throughout the research process, and by preserving semantic consistency (Parse, 2001). Scientific merit is reflected in the conceptual aspects of research design including the ontology or frame of reference that guides the purpose of the formalized inquiry. The articulation or language of the phenomenon of interest to be studied, the articulation of the purposes of the research, and the articulation of the research question should all be consistent with the ontological beliefs and theoretical underpinnings that undergird the science. The data-gathering and analysis aspects of the methodologies should be in harmony with and evolve from the chosen ontology and epistemology of the discipline. Any interpretation of findings or heuristic interpretation that contributes to knowledge expansion of the discipline ought to be viewed through the theoretical lens of understanding that guided the inquiry. The scientific rigor and credibility along with the coherency of synthesized research findings are reflective of an essential ethic of research for a scientific discipline.

Analytic preciseness is important in both quantitative and qualitative inquiry. The interpretation and presentation of findings with accuracy is an important hallmark of what is to be considered an ethical inquiry. Nurse researchers choose how they synthesize and present research findings and propose the significance of the study for further research, practice, and possible further publication. With ever-mounting pressures for nurse researchers to produce evidence-based fundable lines of research and the need to publish what is deemed evidence for practice, nurse researchers must choose an ethos of what it means to have straight thinking as a researcher. From the author’s perspective, an example of a questionable ethos could include writing conclusions about statistically insignificant results as claims of importance for future evidence in practice. Researchers’ should not draw conclusions that are not supported by the findings. They should not alter data for purposes of producing significant relationships of variables with statistical manipulations that were not included in the study purpose or design in the never-ending quest for evidence. Choosing one’s own way as a researcher is reflective of personal integrity and professional value priorities.

Indeed, disciplinary research is not simply problem-solving in nurse practice situations. Problem-solving has incorrectly been called research in which there are dilemmas to be solved or technical situations that require solutions in practice settings. The current global healthcare arena is focusing on quality outcomes and safety initiatives that are designed to improve patient safety involving the usage of information systems and check lists that address issues that reduce medical and nurse errors in practice. Labeling these problem-solving initiatives with the label of formal research study minimizes the scientific merit and integrity of the discipline. These endeavors are not undergirded with a philosophical lens of understanding. Instead, they may be labeled as applied practice research studies that contribute to evidence-based practice. From the author’s perspective, categorizing clinical problem-solving initiatives as research minimizes the ontological integrity of the discipline and is a disservice to the advancement of nursing as a discipline. It is the author’s belief that scientific merit and the integrity of the discipline may be ethically compromised as scholars of a discipline focuses on other healthcare professions’ priorities.

Ethics of Research and Integrity

Issues of integrity may also surface as dilemmas for the researcher. The self- identified dilemmas are not to be overcome. Instead, questions surrounding issues of integrity may be articulated as notions and concepts that should be thoughtfully considered as important to members of a scientific discipline. Integrity in research has been viewed as a value of the healthcare professions. It is made known to others through patterns of relating and wise, prudent discernment in choosing to act in accordance with a code of ethics accepted as standards of practice. Integrity may be reflected upon as a commitment to truthfulness. Truthfulness in all research endeavors should be evident and transparent to all those who participate in the formal inquiry process.

Professional issues of integrity and faithfulness frequently surface in global healthcare research. Examples of faithfulness may include situations where clear declarations of research funding and any financial benefits for the researcher are appropriately declared. Integrity may also be demonstrated in the publishing of formal research findings. Duplicate publications of the same study in multiple journals reflect on both the integrity of the discipline and professional integrity of the researcher. The common practice of adding names of co-researchers for the purposes of increasing chances for obtaining governmental grant funding, adding names of co-authors to increase the numbers of publications, adding names of co-authors to increase authorship citations, or adding names to publications so that individuals my add to a personal curriculum vita for purposes of employment promotion and tenure such as for university faculty, are all issues of integrity and truthfulness that should be of concern to scholars of the discipline. Acting with integrity in research endeavors also involves ethical issues associated with the protection of human subjects.

Ethics and Protection of Human Subjects

The ethics of research are lived in the nurse-researcher relationship and in community. The ethos is one of commitment; a special human relationship uniquely entrusted between nurse researcher and the participants of formal inquiry. It is a uniquely privileged relationship that should contribute to the common good of humankind and provide an enhanced understanding of humanly lived experiences. To be a nurse researcher is to view this relationship as an obligation, a commitment, with an abiding dedication to be faithful and diligent in carrying forth the aims, purposes, and processes of research with the integrity of straight thinking while advancing nursing knowledge.

Oaths, codes, declarations, and position statements all describe the nurse’s obligation to protect human subjects of research with what are considered to be standard measures. However, the principles and concepts found in codes and professional statements do not offer specific meanings and implications for the meaning of these chosen obligations. What does it potentially mean to be faithful to others in nurse research? What does it mean to act with justice or fairness, while guiding avenues of research from a nursing theoretical perspective? Standard methods for maintaining privacy and confidentiality are commonly outlined in the research proposal process. However, the ways in which the researcher offers dignity and respect to those who envision plans for formal inquiry and conduct research from a nursing theoretical perspective require exploration. The following notions are offered for consideration from the perspective of humanbecoming ethical tenets (Parse, 2010) that serve as emanating truths.

Reverence and the Ethics of Research

Parse (2010) stated that “reverence is solemn regard for human presence” (p. 258). Honoring human dignity is evidenced in nurse research with respectful attention shown to participants, colleagues, and other healthcare professionals. As nurse researchers choose avenues of formal inquiry consistent with chosen ontological beliefs and frames of reference, reverence arises while acknowledging the uniqueness of each person in the research community whose ever-changing, unfolding lives and experiences are precious to the researcher.

For the nurse researcher, reverence may be seen as a pattern of relating with humanuniverse health. It is viewed as respect for the human presence of another. In the discipline of nursing, reverence for another in research may include refraining from judging other colleagues’ ontologies, choices of research topics, and chosen avenues of scientific inquiry. Reverence is acting with faithfulness and loyalty to other members of the discipline who are striving to serve with excellence in their choosing of a commitment to a particular ontological and epistemological perspective.

Those persons who willingly consent to serve as participants of research ought to be respected and revered for their contributions to the advancement of nursing science. They should be honored by researchers who dedicate themselves to safeguarding privacy and confidentiality. Honoring research participants also includes appropriately withdrawing participants from study when they change their minds and choose to not continue participating in a study. It is not continuing with the formal inquiry process when participation may be potentially harmful. Indeed, the ethics of research is imbued with the awesomeness of human existence.

The Ethics of Beholding the Unexplainable

Parse (2010) has stated that “awe is beholding the unexplainable of human existence” (p. 258). As an ethical tenet or truth that has implications for nursing research, all of human life is a mystery and all can never be known about a phenomenon of interest. There is always something more and different that can be understood as truth for the moment (Parse, 2008) and nurse researchers’ bear witness to others descriptions of health and patterns of relating with an abiding appreciation for their humanness. From this perspective, enhancing understanding is glimpsing a snapshot of a moment captured in a moment of human living. It is with awe that the nurse researcher should appreciate the humanly lived experiences of health as described by others without judgment. Persons should not be defined by their ways of being or how they are known to others in the healthcare community. Participants of research should not be looked upon as population group categories, as those who share a particular medical diagnosis, or as those who have been diagnosed with a pathophysiological disease process, but rather should instead be revered with wonderment in being human. To not acknowledge this wonderment opens the door for possibilities of betrayal to those we serve.

The ethics of research continues to evolve as global healthcare priorities for safety and quality initiatives increase. The never-ending quest for objective evidence for practice predominates. The author encourages the nurse scholar community to regard other definitions of evidence as truth for the moment (Parse, 2008) and the illimitable potential meanings found in the ethics of research from a discipline-specific theoretical perspective. May we continue the scientific inquiry and humanly lived phenomena exploration with reverence and respect for one another as we seek to serve humankind.