Ethical issues in nursing research: the wider picture.
You think you've finished writing that research proposal. It simply needs to be submitted for funding. But haven't you overlooked something? Are there not some questions still to be answered like: 'Will this research actually help patients or am I just doing this to increase my research rating, or finish this degree or to enhance my CV?'; 'Will this research project have any lasting effects on the participants?'; 'Have I been completely honest with the participants about what happens to their responses or with the exact nature of the intervention?'; 'What about those only receiving placebos, is it morally wrong to deny them the chance of improvement by placing them in the control group?'; and 'Who answers these questions anyway?'
Department of Nursing, School of Health Sciences, The University of Birmingham.
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