Page 475 - Encyclopedia of Nursing Research

442 n RESEARCH IN NURSING ETHICS

their offerings. Audiences frequently trust general heading; together, they address the
that presenters have carefully critiqued the duties and obligations of scientists toward
R research they cite. Although this assumption science and society, fellow scientists, and
usually is well founded, the scholarly practi- their students.
tioner will seek references and do a personal Many codes of ethics state or imply
review. that nurses have a responsibility to conduct
As more nurses are university educated, research to expand the profession’s knowl-
including nurse administrators, familiar- edge base; yet, few provide guidance on the
ity with the relevant research has become a ethics of research. An increasing number of
standard of practice in some organizations. nursing organizations are now turning their
Although this practice is not yet the norm, attention to this very task to provide specific
practice policies, standards, and procedures guidance to their members on sound prac-
should be written, with a literature review tices in their research and for the training
that includes applicable research from nurs- of the new generation of nurse researchers
ing and other relevant disciplines. With a (Ketefian, 2010).
policy or procedure focusing on the “need Until recently, many nurse scientists had
to know” for the practitioner, the review of a limited conception of ethical conduct in sci-
relevant research can be productive in prac- ence, identifying human subject protection as
tical dissemination by providing a context the main concern in their practices and in the
for considering whether to move into the instruction of their students. Further, they
application/utilization phases of knowledge displayed a lack of consensus on research
diffusion. and publication practices and in their views
An additional means of dissemination on the roles of professional organizations,
is currently evolving, and that is via the institutions sponsoring research, journal edi-
Internet. Universities, professional organi- tors, among other important matters (lenz
zations, and individuals have home pages & Ketefian, 1995; Ketefian & lenz, 1995). A
that more and more are including research major change has come about more recently,
information. Online journals also are avail- perhaps occasioned by heightened public
able. Some of the home pages include only awareness of scientific misconduct by a few
researcher names and topics; others include scientists. Government funding agencies,
abstracts and findings. institutions, and professional organizations
alike have recognized the need for greater
Patricia A. Martin rigor, and guidelines and policies have been
put in place.
Why do we want science to be ethical?
Several reasons can be cited: to serve the pub-
ReseaRch in nuRsing ethics lic good and promote public trust in science,
we want to have confidence in the validity
of knowledge; to demonstrate good stew-
Ethics in nursing research, also referred to ardship of public funds; and last, because it
as scientific integrity, is concerned with the is the right thing to do. Several ethical prin-
principles and practices of good science that ciples underlying science aim to assure that
aim to promote the generation of sound and science and scholarly knowledge are accu-
ethically defensible knowledge. The princi- rate and valid, and they protect intellectual
ples are developed within the framework of property rights of all concerned (Midwest
the scientific community and derived from Nursing Research Society [MNRS], 2002).
the field of ethics, a branch of philosophy. A Research is considered ethical when it
number of practices are subsumed under this has scientific value; has scientific validity,