Research Ethics

Conducting research raises many ethical issues. Tragically, abuses of research subjects have identified the need for ethical oversight of human research. Researchers planning projects that involve human participants are required to obtain approval from a research ethics committee (REC) or Institutional Review Board (IRB). How these committees carry out their ethical assessments has been the subject of much debate. The following are links to some of my articles on research ethics.

“Six Tips for Better Research Ethics,” Interview for Stat59 (22 March 2021).

“Roles and Challenges for IRBs with Disaster Research,” Research Practitioner 13.5 (September-October 2012): 167-174.

“Ethical Considerations in Designing Intervention Studies,” in Intervention Research. Designing, Conducting, Analyzing, and Funding: A Practical Guide for Success. Edited by Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk and Dianne Morrison-Beedy, pp. 75-89. New York: Springer Publishing, 2012.

“Moral Science: Ensuring Human Subjects Research is Ethical,” Research Practitioner 13.3 (May-June 2012): 88-98.

“Research on IRBs: What’s Working and What’s Not,” Research Practitioner 12.6 (November-December 2011): 195-200.

“Conducting research in the aftermath of disasters: ethical considerations,” Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine 3.2 (2010): 65-75.

“Ethical Considerations for Evidence Implementation & Generation: Evidence-based Quality Improvement,” in Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing and Healthcare: A Guide to Best Practice, 2nd ed. Edited by Bernadette Melnyk and Ellen Fineout-Overholt, pp. 474-487. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2010.

“Trust and Clinical Research,” Research Practitioner 10.5 (September-October 2009): 170-177.

“Phase 1 Clinical Trials in the Aftermath of TGN1412,” Research Practitioner 9.3 (May-June 2008): 74-81.

“Decision-Making and Health Research: Ethics and the 10/90 Gap,” Research Practitioner 8.5 (September-October 2007): 164-172.

“Ethical Issues with Health Care Research in Developing Countries,” Research Practitioner 8.3 (May-June 2007): 92-100.

“Personhood in Bioethics and Biomedical Research,” Research Practitioner 7.5 (September-October 2006): 167-174.

“Therapeutic Misconception and Research Ethics,” Research Practitioner 7.3 (May-June 2006): 80-88.

“Participant Protection in Minimal-risk Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Research,” Research Practitioner 6.3 (May-June 2005): 96-105.

“New Findings and Old Myths about the Placebo Effect,” Research Practitioner 4.1 (January-February 2003): 10-19.

“Informed Consent and Gene Therapy,” Research Practitioner 4.5 (September-October 2003): 180-187.

“Ethical Issues Surrounding the Conduct of Research with Decisionally Impaired Adults,” Research Practitioner 4.2 (March-April 2003): 42-50.

“Human Subject Protections: Ethical Issues in Overseas Medical Research,” Research Practitioner 3.2 (March-April 2002): 42-50.