Introduction
Problem
Research ethics require nurses and other health workers to carry out their duties with due diligence and high moral standards. The conduct of nursing professionals when conducting research should not be in conflict with their assigned duties and moral codes that govern the nursing profession. This study looks at the importance of nurses observing professional ethics when conducting research in different settings.
Significance
This study is significant to nursing because it helps nurses to understand the society, their profession and the reliability of their findings. Nurses undertaking research need to be aware of the ethical issues that are likely to crop up during such studies. Research ethics highlights the role nurses play in healthcare and how this can affect the final findings of the research they get involved in. This study emphasizes the importance of objectivity by nurses during research to ensure that they do not get carried away by the ethical dilemmas that are associated with the nursing practice (Johnstone, 2009, p. 52).
Purpose
This study shows nurses the necessary steps that they should take before they carry out any scientific research. It is vital for the nurses to avoid any misconduct, undesirable performance and abuse of subjects that willingly participate in the research. Research ethics guide nurses on how to conduct research procedures without harming the participants (Johnstone, 2009, p. 56).
Research Questions
Are nurses aware of their ethical obligations to participants during research?
Do nurses seek approval from relevant authorities before conducting research?
Do nurses seek the consent of the participants before they can include them in the research?
Do nurses get biased while conducting research because of conflict in roles?
Concepts/ Phenomena
The main concepts include ethics, moral dilemma, consent of the subjects and participants, reliability of the data, research design, confidentiality, protection of the data gathered, and the skills of the researchers.
Methods of Study
Qualitative Study
This study is qualitative in nature; it focuses on the level of awareness among nurses regarding the ethical principles that they need to observe when conducting research. The study seeks to establish the nurses’ traditional role of care giving and how it can positively or negatively affect their objectivity when conducting research (Fouka & Mantzorou, 2011, p. 5). The study seeks to contribute new knowledge for the nursing profession by proposing effective ways through which research studies can be conducted.
Research Design
The study focuses on the level of information that nurses have regarding the ethical conduct they should uphold while conducting research. The study looks at the importance of obtaining consent by nurses from their subjects before they can include them in the data collection procedures and record the findings of the studies they conduct. This study looks at the moral dilemmas that nurses have to face when researching and sheds light on the ways in which they can overcome them (Fouka & Mantzorou, 2011, pp. 6-7). Nurses need to use familiar language and procedures that the subjects are comfortable with to make them feel at ease at every stage of the research process.
Sample
The sample for the study looks at nurses that are involved in conducting research in a variety of settings. This study covers all the nurses who are actively involved in research activities in different areas. The study seeks to establish their level of understanding regarding the ethical principles they need to observe while conducting research studies (Fouka & Mantzorou, 2011, p. 8).
Procedures
The procedures followed by the nurses when carrying out their duties are also under assessment in this study. Selection of accurate research techniques which are approved by ethics panelists is necessary before the nurses can conduct any study. The use of peer reviewers in all stages of the study is vital for assessing the quality of the study undertaken by the nurses (Fouka & Mantzorou, 2011, p.9).
Results
Findings
The findings show that the consent of the participants is necessary in validating the reliability of the study done. Participants should only be part of a study on their own volition; the participants should not be coerced and nurses ought to obtain their signed written consent before embarking on the study. The study done should not harm but improve the wellbeing of participants. Participants should be anonymous in their contribution. The results need to be confidential and should not violate any person’s right to privacy (Beauchamp & Childres, 2001, p. 77).
Implications
Nursing researchers need to inspire confidence which is only possible through enforcement of ethics. Nurses need to be aware of ethical standards that can help them conduct reliable research studies. Effective observations of ethical principles assure the public of the safety of the procedures taken through nursing research studies.
Contribution
The studies show that observing safety, protecting data, monitoring every stage of the research and using reliable procedures are necessary in achieving reliable results during a study. The findings impact all areas of nursing and create awareness on the need for ethical procedures to be observed during research (Beauchamp & Childress, 2001, p. 81).
Ethical Considerations
The study was approved by the institutional review board.
Patient Privacy was protected.
The objectivity of the nurses when gathering data from patients was compromised because of their backgrounds as caregivers.
Conclusion
Professional codes and ethics provide effective ways through which nursing research can be conducted. Nursing curriculums should train nursing students on the need to observe ethics when they are conducting research.
References
Beauchamp, T. L., & Childres, J. F. (2001). Principles of biomedical ethics (5th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Fouka, G., & Mantzorou, M. (2011). What are the major ethical issues in conducting research? Is there a conflict between the research ethics and the nature of nursing? Health Science Journal 5(1), 3-14.
Johnstone, M. (2009). Bioethics: A nursing perspective (5th ed.). London: Elsevier.