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• Ethical Considerations in Research | Types & Examples

Ethical Considerations in Research | Types & Examples

Published on October 18, 2021 by Pritha Bhandari . Revised on June 22, 2023.

Ethical considerations in research are a set of principles that guide your research designs and practices. Scientists and researchers must always adhere to a certain code of conduct when collecting data from people.

The goals of human research often include understanding real-life phenomena, studying effective treatments, investigating behaviors, and improving lives in other ways. What you decide to research and how you conduct that research involve key ethical considerations.

These considerations work to

• protect the rights of research participants
• enhance research validity
• maintain scientific or academic integrity

Table of contents

Why do research ethics matter, getting ethical approval for your study, types of ethical issues, voluntary participation, informed consent, confidentiality, potential for harm, results communication, examples of ethical failures, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about research ethics.

Research ethics matter for scientific integrity, human rights and dignity, and collaboration between science and society. These principles make sure that participation in studies is voluntary, informed, and safe for research subjects.

You’ll balance pursuing important research objectives with using ethical research methods and procedures. It’s always necessary to prevent permanent or excessive harm to participants, whether inadvertent or not.

Defying research ethics will also lower the credibility of your research because it’s hard for others to trust your data if your methods are morally questionable.

Even if a research idea is valuable to society, it doesn’t justify violating the human rights or dignity of your study participants.

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Before you start any study involving data collection with people, you’ll submit your research proposal to an institutional review board (IRB) .

An IRB is a committee that checks whether your research aims and research design are ethically acceptable and follow your institution’s code of conduct. They check that your research materials and procedures are up to code.

If successful, you’ll receive IRB approval, and you can begin collecting data according to the approved procedures. If you want to make any changes to your procedures or materials, you’ll need to submit a modification application to the IRB for approval.

If unsuccessful, you may be asked to re-submit with modifications or your research proposal may receive a rejection. To get IRB approval, it’s important to explicitly note how you’ll tackle each of the ethical issues that may arise in your study.

There are several ethical issues you should always pay attention to in your research design, and these issues can overlap with each other.

You’ll usually outline ways you’ll deal with each issue in your research proposal if you plan to collect data from participants.

Voluntary participation means that all research subjects are free to choose to participate without any pressure or coercion.

All participants are able to withdraw from, or leave, the study at any point without feeling an obligation to continue. Your participants don’t need to provide a reason for leaving the study.

It’s important to make it clear to participants that there are no negative consequences or repercussions to their refusal to participate. After all, they’re taking the time to help you in the research process , so you should respect their decisions without trying to change their minds.

Voluntary participation is an ethical principle protected by international law and many scientific codes of conduct.

Take special care to ensure there’s no pressure on participants when you’re working with vulnerable groups of people who may find it hard to stop the study even when they want to.

Informed consent refers to a situation in which all potential participants receive and understand all the information they need to decide whether they want to participate. This includes information about the study’s benefits, risks, funding, and institutional approval.

You make sure to provide all potential participants with all the relevant information about

• what the study is about
• the risks and benefits of taking part
• how long the study will take
• your supervisor’s contact information and the institution’s approval number

Usually, you’ll provide participants with a text for them to read and ask them if they have any questions. If they agree to participate, they can sign or initial the consent form. Note that this may not be sufficient for informed consent when you work with particularly vulnerable groups of people.

If you’re collecting data from people with low literacy, make sure to verbally explain the consent form to them before they agree to participate.

For participants with very limited English proficiency, you should always translate the study materials or work with an interpreter so they have all the information in their first language.

In research with children, you’ll often need informed permission for their participation from their parents or guardians. Although children cannot give informed consent, it’s best to also ask for their assent (agreement) to participate, depending on their age and maturity level.

Anonymity means that you don’t know who the participants are and you can’t link any individual participant to their data.

You can only guarantee anonymity by not collecting any personally identifying information—for example, names, phone numbers, email addresses, IP addresses, physical characteristics, photos, and videos.

In many cases, it may be impossible to truly anonymize data collection . For example, data collected in person or by phone cannot be considered fully anonymous because some personal identifiers (demographic information or phone numbers) are impossible to hide.

You’ll also need to collect some identifying information if you give your participants the option to withdraw their data at a later stage.

Data pseudonymization is an alternative method where you replace identifying information about participants with pseudonymous, or fake, identifiers. The data can still be linked to participants but it’s harder to do so because you separate personal information from the study data.

Confidentiality means that you know who the participants are, but you remove all identifying information from your report.

All participants have a right to privacy, so you should protect their personal data for as long as you store or use it. Even when you can’t collect data anonymously, you should secure confidentiality whenever you can.

Some research designs aren’t conducive to confidentiality, but it’s important to make all attempts and inform participants of the risks involved.

As a researcher, you have to consider all possible sources of harm to participants. Harm can come in many different forms.

• Psychological harm: Sensitive questions or tasks may trigger negative emotions such as shame or anxiety.
• Social harm: Participation can involve social risks, public embarrassment, or stigma.
• Physical harm: Pain or injury can result from the study procedures.
• Legal harm: Reporting sensitive data could lead to legal risks or a breach of privacy.

It’s best to consider every possible source of harm in your study as well as concrete ways to mitigate them. Involve your supervisor to discuss steps for harm reduction.

Make sure to disclose all possible risks of harm to participants before the study to get informed consent. If there is a risk of harm, prepare to provide participants with resources or counseling or medical services if needed.

Some of these questions may bring up negative emotions, so you inform participants about the sensitive nature of the survey and assure them that their responses will be confidential.

The way you communicate your research results can sometimes involve ethical issues. Good science communication is honest, reliable, and credible. It’s best to make your results as transparent as possible.

Take steps to actively avoid plagiarism and research misconduct wherever possible.

Plagiarism means submitting others’ works as your own. Although it can be unintentional, copying someone else’s work without proper credit amounts to stealing. It’s an ethical problem in research communication because you may benefit by harming other researchers.

Self-plagiarism is when you republish or re-submit parts of your own papers or reports without properly citing your original work.

This is problematic because you may benefit from presenting your ideas as new and original even though they’ve already been published elsewhere in the past. You may also be infringing on your previous publisher’s copyright, violating an ethical code, or wasting time and resources by doing so.

In extreme cases of self-plagiarism, entire datasets or papers are sometimes duplicated. These are major ethical violations because they can skew research findings if taken as original data.

You notice that two published studies have similar characteristics even though they are from different years. Their sample sizes, locations, treatments, and results are highly similar, and the studies share one author in common.

Research misconduct

Research misconduct means making up or falsifying data, manipulating data analyses, or misrepresenting results in research reports. It’s a form of academic fraud.

These actions are committed intentionally and can have serious consequences; research misconduct is not a simple mistake or a point of disagreement about data analyses.

Research misconduct is a serious ethical issue because it can undermine academic integrity and institutional credibility. It leads to a waste of funding and resources that could have been used for alternative research.

Later investigations revealed that they fabricated and manipulated their data to show a nonexistent link between vaccines and autism. Wakefield also neglected to disclose important conflicts of interest, and his medical license was taken away.

This fraudulent work sparked vaccine hesitancy among parents and caregivers. The rate of MMR vaccinations in children fell sharply, and measles outbreaks became more common due to a lack of herd immunity.

Research scandals with ethical failures are littered throughout history, but some took place not that long ago.

Some scientists in positions of power have historically mistreated or even abused research participants to investigate research problems at any cost. These participants were prisoners, under their care, or otherwise trusted them to treat them with dignity.

To demonstrate the importance of research ethics, we’ll briefly review two research studies that violated human rights in modern history.

These experiments were inhumane and resulted in trauma, permanent disabilities, or death in many cases.

After some Nazi doctors were put on trial for their crimes, the Nuremberg Code of research ethics for human experimentation was developed in 1947 to establish a new standard for human experimentation in medical research.

In reality, the actual goal was to study the effects of the disease when left untreated, and the researchers never informed participants about their diagnoses or the research aims.

Although participants experienced severe health problems, including blindness and other complications, the researchers only pretended to provide medical care.

When treatment became possible in 1943, 11 years after the study began, none of the participants were offered it, despite their health conditions and high risk of death.

Ethical failures like these resulted in severe harm to participants, wasted resources, and lower trust in science and scientists. This is why all research institutions have strict ethical guidelines for performing research.

If you want to know more about statistics , methodology , or research bias , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• Normal distribution
• Measures of central tendency
• Chi square tests
• Confidence interval
• Quartiles & Quantiles
• Cluster sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Thematic analysis
• Cohort study
• Peer review
• Ethnography

Research bias

• Implicit bias
• Cognitive bias
• Conformity bias
• Hawthorne effect
• Availability heuristic
• Attrition bias
• Social desirability bias

Ethical considerations in research are a set of principles that guide your research designs and practices. These principles include voluntary participation, informed consent, anonymity, confidentiality, potential for harm, and results communication.

Scientists and researchers must always adhere to a certain code of conduct when collecting data from others .

These considerations protect the rights of research participants, enhance research validity , and maintain scientific integrity.

Research ethics matter for scientific integrity, human rights and dignity, and collaboration between science and society. These principles make sure that participation in studies is voluntary, informed, and safe.

Anonymity means you don’t know who the participants are, while confidentiality means you know who they are but remove identifying information from your research report. Both are important ethical considerations .

You can only guarantee anonymity by not collecting any personally identifying information—for example, names, phone numbers, email addresses, IP addresses, physical characteristics, photos, or videos.

You can keep data confidential by using aggregate information in your research report, so that you only refer to groups of participants rather than individuals.

These actions are committed intentionally and can have serious consequences; research misconduct is not a simple mistake or a point of disagreement but a serious ethical failure.

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Ethics of Scientific Writing

• First Online: 21 March 2019

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Scientific writing is the process of putting information and thinking into a final permanent report, so it can be read and used by other people. For any given research study, there are innumerable various ways to legitimately write that report (depending on what exactly the authors want to say and how). But readers expect that each journal paper corresponds appropriately to the research reported. The amount of writing published about a research study should correspond appropriately to the amount and value of the actual research performed, and the writing about that research should be original, scientific, and truthful. Ethical problems arise whenever there is a gross disconnection between the writing activity of the authors and the actual research they have done. So ethical scientific writing involves several issues: 1) avoiding plagiarism – the copying of someone else’s expressions or ideas, 2) writing a report that is accurate and unbiased, 3) maintaining patient confidentiality, 4) not writing too many papers from a research study – so-called “salami publication”, and 5) not failing to actually write-up and publish a peer-reviewed journal paper about a completed study.

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Hanna, M. (2019). Ethics of Scientific Writing. In: How to Write Better Medical Papers. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02955-5_21

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Addressing ethical issues in your research proposal

This article explores the ethical issues that may arise in your proposed study during your doctoral research degree.

What ethical principles apply when planning and conducting research?

Research ethics are the moral principles that govern how researchers conduct their studies (Wellcome Trust, 2014). As there are elements of uncertainty and risk involved in any study, every researcher has to consider how they can uphold these ethical principles and conduct the research in a way that protects the interests and welfare of participants and other stakeholders (such as organisations).  

You will need to consider the ethical issues that might arise in your proposed study. Consideration of the fundamental ethical principles that underpin all research will help you to identify the key issues and how these could be addressed. As you are probably a practitioner who wants to undertake research within your workplace, consider how your role as an ‘insider’ influences how you will conduct your study. Think about the ethical issues that might arise when you become an insider researcher (for example, relating to trust, confidentiality and anonymity).  

What key ethical principles do you think will be important when planning or conducting your research, particularly as an insider? Principles that come to mind might include autonomy, respect, dignity, privacy, informed consent and confidentiality. You may also have identified principles such as competence, integrity, wellbeing, justice and non-discrimination.  

Key ethical issues that you will address as an insider researcher include:

• Gaining trust
• Avoiding coercion when recruiting colleagues or other participants (such as students or service users)
• Practical challenges relating to ensuring the confidentiality and anonymity of organisations and staff or other participants.

(Heslop et al, 2018)

A fuller discussion of ethical principles is available from the British Psychological Society’s Code of Human Research Ethics (BPS, 2021).

You can also refer to guidance from the British Educational Research Association and the British Association for Applied Linguistics .

Ethical principles are essential for protecting the interests of research participants, including maximising the benefits and minimising any risks associated with taking part in a study. These principles describe ethical conduct which reflects the integrity of the researcher, promotes the wellbeing of participants and ensures high-quality research is conducted (Health Research Authority, 2022).  

Research ethics is therefore not simply about gaining ethical approval for your study to be conducted. Research ethics relates to your moral conduct as a doctoral researcher and will apply throughout your study from design to dissemination (British Psychological Society, 2021). When you apply to undertake a doctorate, you will need to clearly indicate in your proposal that you understand these ethical principles and are committed to upholding them.  

Where can I find ethical guidance and resources? 

Professional bodies, learned societies, health and social care authorities, academic publications, Research Ethics Committees and research organisations provide a range of ethical guidance and resources. International codes such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights underpin ethical frameworks (United Nations, 1948).  

You may be aware of key legislation in your own country or the country where you plan to undertake the research, including laws relating to consent, data protection and decision-making capacity, for example, the Data Protection Act, 2018 (UK).  If you want to find out more about becoming an ethical researcher, check out this Open University short course: Becoming an ethical researcher: Introduction and guidance: What is a badged course? - OpenLearn - Open University  

You should be able to justify the research decisions you make. Utilising these resources will guide your ethical judgements when writing your proposal and ultimately when designing and conducting your research study. The Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research (British Educational Research Association, 2018) identifies the key responsibilities you will have when you conduct your research, including the range of stakeholders that you will have responsibilities to, as follows:   

• to your participants (e.g. to appropriately inform them, facilitate their participation and support them)
• clients, stakeholders and sponsors
• the community of educational or health and social care researchers
• for publication and dissemination
• your wellbeing and development

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (no date) has emphasised the need to promote equality, diversity and inclusion when undertaking research, particularly to address long-standing social and health inequalities. Research should be informed by the diversity of people’s experiences and insights, so that it will lead to the development of practice that addresses genuine need. A commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion aims to eradicate prejudice and discrimination on the basis of an individual or group of individuals' protected characteristics such as sex (gender), disability, race, sexual orientation, in line with the Equality Act 2010.  

The NIHR has produced guidance for enhancing the inclusion of ‘under-served groups’ when designing a research study (2020). Although the guidance refers to clinical research it is relevant to research more broadly.  

You should consider how you will promote equality and diversity in your planned study, including through aspects such as your research topic or question, the methodology you will use, the participants you plan to recruit and how you will analyse and interpret your data.    

What ethical issues do I need to consider when writing my research proposal?

You might be planning to undertake research in a health, social care, educational or other setting, including observations and interviews. The following prompts should help you to identify key ethical issues that you need to bear in mind when undertaking research in such settings.  

1.     Imagine you are a potential participant. Think about the questions and concerns that you might have:

• How would you feel if a researcher sat in your space and took notes, completed a checklist, or made an audio or film recording?
• What harm might a researcher cause by observing or interviewing you and others?
• What would you want to know about the researcher and ask them about the study before giving consent?
• When imagining you are the participant, how could the researcher make you feel more comfortable to be observed or interviewed? 

2.     Having considered the perspective of your potential participant, how would you take account of concerns such as privacy, consent, wellbeing and power in your research proposal?  

[Adapted from OpenLearn course: Becoming an ethical researcher, Week 2 Activity 3: Becoming an ethical researcher - OpenLearn - Open University ]  

The ethical issues to be considered will vary depending on your organisational context/role, the types of participants you plan to recruit (for example, children, adults with mental health problems), the research methods you will use, and the types of data you will collect. You will need to decide how to recruit your participants so you do not inappropriately exclude anyone.  Consider what methods may be necessary to facilitate their voice and how you can obtain their consent to taking part or ensure that consent is obtained from someone else as necessary, for example, a parent in the case of a child. 

You should also think about how to avoid imposing an unnecessary burden or costs on your participants. For example, by minimising the length of time they will have to commit to the study and by providing travel or other expenses. Identify the measures that you will take to store your participants’ data safely and maintain their confidentiality and anonymity when you report your findings. You could do this by storing interview and video recordings in a secure server and anonymising their names and those of their organisations using pseudonyms.  

Professional codes such as the Code of Human Research Ethics (BPS, 2021) provide guidance on undertaking research with children. Being an ‘insider’ researching within your own organisation has advantages. However, you should also consider how this might impact on your research, such as power dynamics, consent, potential bias and any conflict of interest between your professional and researcher roles (Sapiro and Matthews, 2020).  

How have other researchers addressed any ethical challenges?

The literature provides researchers’ accounts explaining how they addressed ethical challenges when undertaking studies. For example, Turcotte-Tremblay and McSween-Cadieux (2018) discuss strategies for protecting participants’ confidentiality when disseminating findings locally, such as undertaking fieldwork in multiple sites and providing findings in a generalised form. In addition, professional guidance includes case studies illustrating how ethical issues can be addressed, including when researching online forums (British Sociological Association, no date).

Watch the videos below and consider what insights the postgraduate researcher and supervisor provide  regarding issues such as being an ‘insider researcher’, power relations, avoiding intrusion, maintaining participant anonymity and complying with research ethics and professional standards. How might their experiences inform the design and conduct of your own study?

Postgraduate researcher and supervisor talk about ethical considerations

Your thoughtful consideration of the ethical issues that might arise and how you would address these should enable you to propose an ethically informed study and conduct it in a responsible, fair and sensitive manner. 

British Educational Research Association (2018)  Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research.  Available at:  https://www.bera.ac.uk/publication/ethical-guidelines-for-educational-research-2018  (Accessed: 9 June 2023).

British Psychological Society (2021)  Code of Human Research Ethics . Available at:  https://cms.bps.org.uk/sites/default/files/2022-06/BPS%20Code%20of%20Human%20Research%20Ethics%20%281%29.pdf  (Accessed: 9 June 2023).

British Sociological Association (2016)  Researching online forums . Available at:  https://www.britsoc.co.uk/media/24834/j000208_researching_online_forums_-cs1-_v3.pdf  (Accessed: 9 June 2023).

Health Research Authority (2022)  UK Policy Framework for Health and Social Care Research . Available at:  https://www.hra.nhs.uk/planning-and-improving-research/policies-standards-legislation/uk-policy-framework-health-social-care-research/uk-policy-framework-health-and-social-care-research/#chiefinvestigators  (Accessed: 9 June 2023).

Heslop, C., Burns, S., Lobo, R. (2018) ‘Managing qualitative research as insider-research in small rural communities’,  Rural and Remote Health , 18: pp. 4576.

Equality Act 2010, c. 15.  Available at:   https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/introduction   (Accessed: 9 June 2023).

National Institute for Health and Care Research (no date)  Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) . Available at:  https://arc-kss.nihr.ac.uk/public-and-community-involvement/pcie-guide/how-to-do-pcie/equality-diversity-and-inclusion-edi  (Accessed: 9 June 2023).

National Institute for Health and Care Research (2020)  Improving inclusion of under-served groups in clinical research: Guidance from INCLUDE project.  Available at:   https://www.nihr.ac.uk/documents/improving-inclusion-of-under-served-groups-in-clinical-research-guidance-from-include-project/25435  (Accessed: 9 June 2023).

Sapiro, B. and Matthews, E. (2020) ‘Both Insider and Outsider. On Conducting Social Work Research in Mental Health Settings’,  Advances in Social Work , 20(3). Available at:  https://doi.org/10.18060/23926

Turcotte-Tremblay, A. and McSween-Cadieux, E. (2018) ‘A reflection on the challenge of protecting confidentiality of participants when disseminating research results locally’,  BMC Medical Ethics,  19(supplement 1), no. 45. Available at:   https://bmcmedethics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12910-018-0279-0

United Nations General Assembly (1948)  The Universal Declaration of Human Rights . Resolution A/RES/217/A. Available at:  https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights#:~:text=Drafted%20by%20representatives%20with%20different,all%20peoples%20and%20all%20nations . (Accessed: 9 June 2023).

Wellcome Trust (2014)  Ensuring your research is ethical: A guide for Extended Project Qualification students . Available at:  https://wellcome.org/sites/default/files/wtp057673_0.pdf  (Accessed: 9 June 2023).

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Ethics are broadly the set of rules, written and unwritten, that govern our expectations of our own and others’ behaviour.

Effectively, they set out how we expect others to behave, and why. While there is broad agreement on some ethical values (for example, that murder is bad), there is also wide variation on how exactly these values should be interpreted in practice.

Research ethics are the set of ethics that govern how scientific and other research is performed at research institutions such as universities, and how it is disseminated.

This page explains more about research ethics, and how you can ensure that your research is compliant.

What are Research Ethics?

When most people think of research ethics, they think about issues that arise when research involves human or animal subjects.

While these issues are indeed a key part of research ethics, there are also wider issues about standards of conduct. These include the importance of publishing findings in a transparent way, not plagiarising others’ work, and not falsifying work.

The Importance of Research Ethics

Research ethics are important for a number of reasons.

• They promote the aims of research, such as expanding knowledge.
• They support the values required for collaborative work, such as mutual respect and fairness. This is essential because scientific research depends on collaboration between researchers and groups.
• They mean that researchers can be held accountable for their actions. Many researchers are supported by public money, and regulations on conflicts of interest, misconduct, and research involving humans or animals are necessary to ensure that money is spent appropriately.
• They ensure that the public can trust research. For people to support and fund research, they have to be confident in it.
• They support important social and moral values, such as the principle of doing no harm to others.

Source: Resnick, D. B. (2015) What is Ethics in Research and Why is it Important?

Codes of Ethics

Government agencies who fund or commission research often publish codes of conduct for researchers, or codes of ethics.

For example, the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) both publish ethical codes. Some ethical codes may have the force of law behind them, while others may simply be advisable.

Be aware that even if you do nothing illegal, doing something unethical may end your research career.

Many or even most ethical codes cover the following areas:

Honesty and Integrity

This means that you need to report your research honestly, and that this applies to your methods (what you did), your data, your results, and whether you have previously published any of it. You should not make up any data, including extrapolating unreasonably from some of your results, or do anything which could be construed as trying to mislead anyone. It is better to undersell than over-exaggerate your findings.

When working with others, you should always keep to any agreements, and act sincerely.

Objectivity

You should aim to avoid bias in any aspect of your research, including design, data analysis, interpretation, and peer review. For example, you should never recommend as a peer reviewer someone you know, or who you have worked with, and you should try to ensure that no groups are inadvertently excluded from your research. This also means that you need to disclose any personal or financial interests that may affect your research.

Carefulness

Take care in carrying out your research to avoid careless mistakes. You should also review your work carefully and critically to ensure that your results are credible. It is also important to keep full records of your research. If you are asked to act as a peer reviewer, you should take the time to do the job effectively and fully.

You should always be prepared to share your data and results, along with any new tools that you have developed, when you publish your findings, as this helps to further knowledge and advance science. You should also be open to criticism and new ideas.

Respect for Intellectual Property

You should never plagiarise, or copy, other people’s work and try to pass it off as your own. You should always ask for permission before using other people’s tools or methods, unpublished data or results. Not doing so is plagiarism. Obviously, you need to respect copyrights and patents, together with other forms of intellectual property, and always acknowledge contributions to your research. If in doubt, acknowledge, to avoid any risk of plagiarism.

Confidentiality

You should respect anything that has been provided in confidence. You should also follow guidelines on protection of sensitive information such as patient records.

Responsible Publication

You should publish to advance to state of research and knowledge, and not just to advance your career. This means, in essence, that you should not publish anything that is not new, or that duplicates someone else’s work.

You should always be aware of laws and regulations that govern your work, and be sure that you conform to them.

Animal Care

If you are using animals in your research, you should always be sure that your experiments are both necessary and well-designed. You should also show respect for the animals you are using, and make sure that they are properly cared for.

Human Subjects Protection

If your research involves people, you should make sure that you reduce any possible harm to the minimum, and maximise the benefits both to participants and other people.

This means, for example, that you should not expose people to more tests than are strictly necessary to fulfil your research aims. You should always respect human rights, including the right to privacy and autonomy. You may need to take particular care with vulnerable groups, which include, but are not limited to, children, older people, and those with learning difficulties.

Source: Resnick, D. B. (2015) What is Ethics in Research and Why is it Important? List adapted from Shamoo A and Resnik D. 2015. Responsible Conduct of Research, 3rd ed. (New York: Oxford University Press).

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The Role of the Ethics Committee

Most universities have an ethics committee. This is required to scrutinise all research proposals, to ensure that they do not raise any ethical issues. This will generally include research for master’s and undergraduate degrees, although undergraduate research may be covered by a broader research proposal from your supervisor.

There is likely to be a standard form to complete for ethical approval, which will cover who will be involved, how you will recruit your participants, and what steps you will take to ensure that they have provided informed consent.

There is an example form on our page Writing a Research Proposal , which also contains more detail about how to go about preparing a proposal.

The ethics committee’s role is to consider that what you are doing is appropriate and proportionate to your research aims.

If a research proposal raises ethical issues, the committee will ask the researcher to look again at the issue, and consider whether they could do it differently.

For example , if you are proposing to carry out a study on a particular disease, and you want to ask all your participants whether they are married and have any children, the committee may want to know why this is relevant. It may be relevant (for example, if you think the disease may be reduced by living in a family), in which case, you will need to justify this.

The committee may also suggest alternative methods that they think are more suitable for the target group, or additional precautions that you should take.

You cannot start your research until you have been granted ethical approval, which will be granted formally, together with an approval number.

When you publish your research, whether as a thesis or in one or more journal articles, you will need to provide details of the ethical approval, including this number.

If you are unsure how to behave in a particular situation…

…and think you may have an ethical dilemma, then you should always seek advice before you act.

If you are a student, your supervisor should be happy to help and advise you. If necessary, they will be able to advise you about who else to ask.

As a researcher, you should consult more senior colleagues around, either at your own institution or others, who should be happy to help you.

After all, it is in everyone’s interests to promote research ethics, and support the integrity and reputation of research.

Continue to: Designing Research Writing a Methodology

See also: Writing a Literature Review Academic Referencing Sources of Information

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Ethical Considerations – Types, Examples and Writing Guide

Table of Contents

Ethical Considerations

Ethical considerations in research refer to the principles and guidelines that researchers must follow to ensure that their studies are conducted in an ethical and responsible manner. These considerations are designed to protect the rights, safety, and well-being of research participants, as well as the integrity and credibility of the research itself

Some of the key ethical considerations in research include:

• Informed consent: Researchers must obtain informed consent from study participants, which means they must inform participants about the study’s purpose, procedures, risks, benefits, and their right to withdraw at any time.
• Privacy and confidentiality : Researchers must ensure that participants’ privacy and confidentiality are protected. This means that personal information should be kept confidential and not shared without the participant’s consent.
• Harm reduction : Researchers must ensure that the study does not harm the participants physically or psychologically. They must take steps to minimize the risks associated with the study.
• Fairness and equity : Researchers must ensure that the study does not discriminate against any particular group or individual. They should treat all participants equally and fairly.
• Use of deception: Researchers must use deception only if it is necessary to achieve the study’s objectives. They must inform participants of the deception as soon as possible.
• Use of vulnerable populations : Researchers must be especially cautious when working with vulnerable populations, such as children, pregnant women, prisoners, and individuals with cognitive or intellectual disabilities.
• Conflict of interest : Researchers must disclose any potential conflicts of interest that may affect the study’s integrity. This includes financial or personal relationships that could influence the study’s results.
• Data manipulation: Researchers must not manipulate data to support a particular hypothesis or agenda. They should report the results of the study objectively, even if the findings are not consistent with their expectations.
• Intellectual property: Researchers must respect intellectual property rights and give credit to previous studies and research.
• Cultural sensitivity : Researchers must be sensitive to the cultural norms and beliefs of the participants. They should avoid imposing their values and beliefs on the participants and should be respectful of their cultural practices.

Types of Ethical Considerations

Types of Ethical Considerations are as follows:

Research Ethics:

This includes ethical principles and guidelines that govern research involving human or animal subjects, ensuring that the research is conducted in an ethical and responsible manner.

Business Ethics :

This refers to ethical principles and standards that guide business practices and decision-making, such as transparency, honesty, fairness, and social responsibility.

Medical Ethics :

This refers to ethical principles and standards that govern the practice of medicine, including the duty to protect patient autonomy, informed consent, confidentiality, and non-maleficence.

Environmental Ethics :

This involves ethical principles and values that guide our interactions with the natural world, including the obligation to protect the environment, minimize harm, and promote sustainability.

Legal Ethics

This involves ethical principles and standards that guide the conduct of legal professionals, including issues such as confidentiality, conflicts of interest, and professional competence.

Social Ethics

This involves ethical principles and values that guide our interactions with other individuals and society as a whole, including issues such as justice, fairness, and human rights.

Information Ethics

This involves ethical principles and values that govern the use and dissemination of information, including issues such as privacy, accuracy, and intellectual property.

Cultural Ethics

This involves ethical principles and values that govern the relationship between different cultures and communities, including issues such as respect for diversity, cultural sensitivity, and inclusivity.

Technological Ethics

This refers to ethical principles and guidelines that govern the development, use, and impact of technology, including issues such as privacy, security, and social responsibility.

Journalism Ethics

This involves ethical principles and standards that guide the practice of journalism, including issues such as accuracy, fairness, and the public interest.

Educational Ethics

This refers to ethical principles and standards that guide the practice of education, including issues such as academic integrity, fairness, and respect for diversity.

Political Ethics

This involves ethical principles and values that guide political decision-making and behavior, including issues such as accountability, transparency, and the protection of civil liberties.

Professional Ethics

This refers to ethical principles and standards that guide the conduct of professionals in various fields, including issues such as honesty, integrity, and competence.

Personal Ethics

This involves ethical principles and values that guide individual behavior and decision-making, including issues such as personal responsibility, honesty, and respect for others.

Global Ethics

This involves ethical principles and values that guide our interactions with other nations and the global community, including issues such as human rights, environmental protection, and social justice.

Applications of Ethical Considerations

Ethical considerations are important in many areas of society, including medicine, business, law, and technology. Here are some specific applications of ethical considerations:

• Medical research : Ethical considerations are crucial in medical research, particularly when human subjects are involved. Researchers must ensure that their studies are conducted in a way that does not harm participants and that participants give informed consent before participating.
• Business practices: Ethical considerations are also important in business, where companies must make decisions that are socially responsible and avoid activities that are harmful to society. For example, companies must ensure that their products are safe for consumers and that they do not engage in exploitative labor practices.
• Environmental protection: Ethical considerations play a crucial role in environmental protection, as companies and governments must weigh the benefits of economic development against the potential harm to the environment. Decisions about land use, resource allocation, and pollution must be made in an ethical manner that takes into account the long-term consequences for the planet and future generations.
• Technology development : As technology continues to advance rapidly, ethical considerations become increasingly important in areas such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and genetic engineering. Developers must ensure that their creations do not harm humans or the environment and that they are developed in a way that is fair and equitable.
• Legal system : The legal system relies on ethical considerations to ensure that justice is served and that individuals are treated fairly. Lawyers and judges must abide by ethical standards to maintain the integrity of the legal system and to protect the rights of all individuals involved.

Examples of Ethical Considerations

Here are a few examples of ethical considerations in different contexts:

• In healthcare : A doctor must ensure that they provide the best possible care to their patients and avoid causing them harm. They must respect the autonomy of their patients, and obtain informed consent before administering any treatment or procedure. They must also ensure that they maintain patient confidentiality and avoid any conflicts of interest.
• In the workplace: An employer must ensure that they treat their employees fairly and with respect, provide them with a safe working environment, and pay them a fair wage. They must also avoid any discrimination based on race, gender, religion, or any other characteristic protected by law.
• In the media : Journalists must ensure that they report the news accurately and without bias. They must respect the privacy of individuals and avoid causing harm or distress. They must also be transparent about their sources and avoid any conflicts of interest.
• In research: Researchers must ensure that they conduct their studies ethically and with integrity. They must obtain informed consent from participants, protect their privacy, and avoid any harm or discomfort. They must also ensure that their findings are reported accurately and without bias.
• In personal relationships : People must ensure that they treat others with respect and kindness, and avoid causing harm or distress. They must respect the autonomy of others and avoid any actions that would be considered unethical, such as lying or cheating. They must also respect the confidentiality of others and maintain their privacy.

How to Write Ethical Considerations

When writing about research involving human subjects or animals, it is essential to include ethical considerations to ensure that the study is conducted in a manner that is morally responsible and in accordance with professional standards. Here are some steps to help you write ethical considerations:

• Describe the ethical principles: Start by explaining the ethical principles that will guide the research. These could include principles such as respect for persons, beneficence, and justice.
• Discuss informed consent : Informed consent is a critical ethical consideration when conducting research. Explain how you will obtain informed consent from participants, including how you will explain the purpose of the study, potential risks and benefits, and how you will protect their privacy.
• Address confidentiality : Describe how you will protect the confidentiality of the participants’ personal information and data, including any measures you will take to ensure that the data is kept secure and confidential.
• Consider potential risks and benefits : Describe any potential risks or harms to participants that could result from the study and how you will minimize those risks. Also, discuss the potential benefits of the study, both to the participants and to society.
• Discuss the use of animals : If the research involves the use of animals, address the ethical considerations related to animal welfare. Explain how you will minimize any potential harm to the animals and ensure that they are treated ethically.
• Mention the ethical approval : Finally, it’s essential to acknowledge that the research has received ethical approval from the relevant institutional review board or ethics committee. State the name of the committee, the date of approval, and any specific conditions or requirements that were imposed.

When to Write Ethical Considerations

Ethical considerations should be written whenever research involves human subjects or has the potential to impact human beings, animals, or the environment in some way. Ethical considerations are also important when research involves sensitive topics, such as mental health, sexuality, or religion.

In general, ethical considerations should be an integral part of any research project, regardless of the field or subject matter. This means that they should be considered at every stage of the research process, from the initial planning and design phase to data collection, analysis, and dissemination.

Ethical considerations should also be written in accordance with the guidelines and standards set by the relevant regulatory bodies and professional associations. These guidelines may vary depending on the discipline, so it is important to be familiar with the specific requirements of your field.

Purpose of Ethical Considerations

Ethical considerations are an essential aspect of many areas of life, including business, healthcare, research, and social interactions. The primary purposes of ethical considerations are:

• Protection of human rights: Ethical considerations help ensure that people’s rights are respected and protected. This includes respecting their autonomy, ensuring their privacy is respected, and ensuring that they are not subjected to harm or exploitation.
• Promoting fairness and justice: Ethical considerations help ensure that people are treated fairly and justly, without discrimination or bias. This includes ensuring that everyone has equal access to resources and opportunities, and that decisions are made based on merit rather than personal biases or prejudices.
• Promoting honesty and transparency : Ethical considerations help ensure that people are truthful and transparent in their actions and decisions. This includes being open and honest about conflicts of interest, disclosing potential risks, and communicating clearly with others.
• Maintaining public trust: Ethical considerations help maintain public trust in institutions and individuals. This is important for building and maintaining relationships with customers, patients, colleagues, and other stakeholders.
• Ensuring responsible conduct: Ethical considerations help ensure that people act responsibly and are accountable for their actions. This includes adhering to professional standards and codes of conduct, following laws and regulations, and avoiding behaviors that could harm others or damage the environment.

Advantages of Ethical Considerations

Here are some of the advantages of ethical considerations:

• Builds Trust : When individuals or organizations follow ethical considerations, it creates a sense of trust among stakeholders, including customers, clients, and employees. This trust can lead to stronger relationships and long-term loyalty.
• Reputation and Brand Image : Ethical considerations are often linked to a company’s brand image and reputation. By following ethical practices, a company can establish a positive image and reputation that can enhance its brand value.
• Avoids Legal Issues: Ethical considerations can help individuals and organizations avoid legal issues and penalties. By adhering to ethical principles, companies can reduce the risk of facing lawsuits, regulatory investigations, and fines.
• Increases Employee Retention and Motivation: Employees tend to be more satisfied and motivated when they work for an organization that values ethics. Companies that prioritize ethical considerations tend to have higher employee retention rates, leading to lower recruitment costs.
• Enhances Decision-making: Ethical considerations help individuals and organizations make better decisions. By considering the ethical implications of their actions, decision-makers can evaluate the potential consequences and choose the best course of action.
• Positive Impact on Society: Ethical considerations have a positive impact on society as a whole. By following ethical practices, companies can contribute to social and environmental causes, leading to a more sustainable and equitable society.

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

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What are the 6 main ethical issues in research?

By jasdeep bhatia | November 22, 2023

Ethical issues in research play a crucial role in research. Research Ethics ensures that the research is conducted with integrity, adheres to moral principles, and is for the well-being of participants.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Research is the foundation of scientific advancement. It contributes in many aspects. For example; research helps understand the world, drives innovation across different fields, etc. Something very crucial regarding research is its ethical dimension.

For a long time, ethical issues have guided scientists and researchers in their pursuit of knowledge.

Researchers must look up to several ethical issues to conduct studies responsibly. In this ethical issues in research ppt , we shall discuss 6 main ethical issues. Here, you will also come across the process of writing ethical issues in research. This ppt also highlights examples of ethical issues in research .

Define Ethical Issues in Research

Ethical issues in research are principles that help you design your research. It can also be defined as challenges researchers encounter while planning, conducting, and reporting their studies. Scientists, who play the role of researchers, must stick to a code of conduct when conducting research projects.

The need to balance two aspects; i.e.,

• pursuit of knowledge (and)
• protection of human subjects

Becomes the very essence of research ethics.

We shall discuss what are the six ethical issues in research in the next section. Before that, let’s learn more about Ethical Considerations in Research.

Why is it Necessary to Address Ethical Considerations?

While writing a research paper, it’s important to address ethical concerns. It ensures that public trust in the scientific community is maintained. This further ensures that the research contributes positively to society – as a whole.

Ethical issues in research PPT are to be considered before writing a paper. Why? For any paper writing, ethical consideration acts as the foundation. It is the basic building block that shapes the study plan. It also serves as the framework that preserves research participants’ rights, viability, and scientific completeness.

Some of the goals that are met in considering research ethics include the following:

• grasping real-life phenomena
• examining effective treatments
• analyzing behaviors
• improving lives

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What are the Six Ethical Issues in Research PDF?

Study design and ethics approval.

Research can be called good research only when it’s planned, adjusted, and designed with careful consideration of ethical principles. Scientists must develop a research protocol. Not just creating, but also adhering to this protocol is necessary.

Study design and ethics approval is one of the ethical issues in research . Researchers who conduct research to a lower standard are termed ‘misconduct.’ Study design means deciding what method/strategy to follow for data collection and analysis. Collaborators and contributors must agree upon a study proposed and researched by the researcher.

Research should collect data and also answer specific questions. It’s a researcher’s responsibility that their study design passes the ethical standards. These will ensure that the research written is reliable and has valid results.

With this, we come to ethics approval. Researchers conducting research involving human subjects or animals need to seek approval from an Institutional Review Board, or Ethics Committee. Ethics approval ensures that the proposed research is not a vulnerable subject. It also helps a particular research meet ethical standards and protects the well-being of participants.

Data Handling/Management

When we question, ‘ What are the six ethical issues in research ?’, including this point is a must. Researchers should stick to two principles – honesty and transparency. They will help collect data accurately and record and report findings appropriately. Inappropriate analysis of data or falsifying data undermines the scientific process. This becomes the reason for violating ethical standards.

Let’s understand data handling/management with the help of examples of ethical issues in research . Suppose researchers are conducting a clinical trial. During this research, if a drug is found to be ineffective, the honest and transparent approach would be to report these results accurately. But, if this is not followed, it leads to ethical issues. Researchers, at times, try to manipulate or hide the data to make the drug appear effective, while in reality, it’s not so effective.

So, how to ensure that data analysis is appropriate? It’s effortless – researchers should maintain transparency regarding sources and methods to obtain and analyze data. Failure to do so may lead to serious ethical concerns. In the example of a clinical trial, manipulating or hiding data becomes a reason that might make the research’s integrity questionable. Not just this, it’ll also lead to potential consequences for public health.

Informed Consent

Whenever research deals with human subjects, informed consent becomes very important. Potential participants should decide whether they wish to participate or continue participating in particular research. Moreover, every single participant should be fully informed about the nature of the study, potential risks, and benefits.

The right to withdraw from the research at any time is also included in informed consent. By this, we mean that the individuals have the right to step off the research without facing adverse consequences. Researchers need to check and guarantee that participants provide informed and voluntary consent.

Informed consent is one of the crucial ethical issues in research . The process involves 3 basics. They are:

• Study participants should be informed about the research purpose, procedures, potential risks, benefits, and alternatives.
• Study participants should understand the provided information. They must decode the relationship between research and individual clinical situations or interests.
• Study participants should have the right to make voluntary decisions about whether to participate or not.

Remember, failure to obtain informed consent becomes the reason for defying the rights of participants. And if this ethical issue isn’t met, ethical violations might occur.

Here’s one of the other critical ethical issues in research , i.e., Authorship. There is no proper definition of authorship. Why? Because defining authorship is tricky. However, in a research paper, it’s expected that the author plays a significant role. An author should be involved in every single step of research. These steps include the following:

• Planning the study
• Designing the study
• Analyzing data
• Data Interpretation

Apart from these 4 responsibilities, an author is also responsible for proving the validity of the work. Adding more to it, the author should publicly stand by the research. They should play the leading role in drafting and revising the manuscript.

Conversely, data collection or language editing doesn’t mean that the participant involved in the research is an author.

But how do we decide who gets the credit for an author in research? Well, this needs to be decided early in the research planning. One can refer to the “Advice to Authors” as a journal to decide on authorship.

Conflicting Interests

To answer the question, what are the six ethical issues in research pdf ? You should understand ‘Conflicts of Interests.’ Conflicting interests is an ethical issue in research. When a researcher’s interest isn’t apparent/clear, the team may face conflicts of interest. The conflicts include personal, political, commercial, professional, or financial interests. If conflicting interests occur, the entire objectivity or integrity of research is compromised.

Conflicts of interest, one of the ethical issues in research , come from different sources. For example;

• Financial relationships with sponsors
• Professional aspirations
• Personal beliefs

Let’s understand conflicts of interest with the help of examples of ethical issues in research . Suppose there is a researcher who receives funds from a pharmaceutical company. The funding will be utilized for a new clinical trial on a new drug. But, here, a conflict of interest can occur. How? If the outcome of the study impacts the financial interests of the sponsor.

Take note that when such conflicting interests occur, it’ll lead to unfair research practices. The researchers might tend to manipulate the study design, data analysis, or interpretation. All of these will be done to favor the sponsor’s interests.

How do you deal with conflict of interest? The answer is quite simple. Researchers should discuss any conflicts in the early stage of research. Researchers should also try hard to ensure that their conflicts of interest don’t have any adverse effect on the research methods or the result of the research.

Disclosing any conflicts of interest at the beginning of a research work lets the research community, the public involved, and peer reviewers assess the potential impact of these conflicts on the research later on.

Another potential solution for this issue is to talk to/take advice from an independent researcher/ Ethics Committee.

Reusing and Recopying

So, we have come to the last point of 6 main ethical issues in research . It’s Redundant publication and Plagiarism. Redundant publication means ‘reusing’ the same research in multiple places. Plagiarism means ‘copying’ someone else’s work without crediting the person’s research. If two research papers share the same data, discussion, and findings, it can be considered a redundant publication. This is an ethical issue because it misrepresents the research contributions. But here’s something more to add to this. If researchers submit an abstract during meeting proceedings, it’s said to prevent subsequent publication. However, it’s essential to disclose this information fully during submission.

Plagiarism is something severe. It’s a serious ethical violation. A simple definition of Plagiarism is when someone publishes another’s works or presents others’ ideas as their own without proper acknowledgment. Plagiarism acts as a threat to the trust of the research community. Hence, it becomes essential to have a transparent declaration of all sources of information in the research paper.

Also Read: Choosing the Right Business Intelligence Software

How to Write Ethical Issues in Research?

The process of writing ethical issues in research involves some steps. For your convenience, we have jotted down those steps. They are as follows –

Step 1 : Maintain data honesty by dropping out on any data fabrication.

Step 2 : Practise and follow an unbiased data analysis/review approach.

Step 3 : Ensure your thoughts are consistent/stable.

Step 4 : Maintain immense or required clarity of your thoughts.

Step 5 : Adopt a straightforward mindset for adopting new ideas.

Step 6 : Learn to accept criticism from peers.

Step 7 : Look over related papers with a critical approach.

Step 8 : Don’t ignore copyrights and intellectual matters.

So, this was how to write ethical issues in research . You can now quickly write an ethics case study to research any topic.

Further, elaborating let’s have a quick look at how to write a research paper. Before writing an ethical research paper, researchers should plan out a structure. The planning should be done carefully. The paper needs to be divided into several paragraphs. Individuals involved in the research must write a clear plan and coherent study without touching up on ethical issues in research .

What are the Codes of Ethics required during Conducting Research?

For any research to be published, researchers require funds. It’s the Government agencies who fund or commission research. These agencies often publish codes of conduct for researchers. After learning about what are the six ethical issues in research , you should have a brief knowledge of codes of ethics.

Ethical codes in the field of research involve the following –

• Honesty and Integrity
• Carefulness
• Objectivity
• Respecting Intellectual Property
• Confidentiality
• Human Subject Protection

Must Read: Evaluating Data Analyst Course Fees: Budgeting for Education

So, that’s all about ethical issues in research . To conclude, it is the responsibility of researchers to uphold ethical standards. The ethical standards are essential at the beginning and throughout the research process. The 6 ethical issues in research PPT highlighted in this guide will be helpful for researchers. They ensure the credibility and validity of research outcomes. Hence, what’s the result – it’s the advancement of knowledge built on ethical practices.

What is the essence of research ethics?

Research ethics should be conducted with integrity. It must also meet the moral principles. Apart from these, the essence of research ethics lies in research that prioritizes the well-being of participants.

Should research ethics be defended?

Defying research ethics is not advisable. Instead, research ethics should be upheld and defended. This ensures the integrity and credibility of scientific research. 

Do authors/researchers have any ethical obligations?

Yes, both researchers and authors have ethical obligations in research. They are expected to be essential in the research process, accuracy, and publication.

If I am part of daily clinical practice, do I need to obtain ethics approval?

You should obtain ethics approval for research conducted in daily clinical practice. Make sure you have the approval if your research involves human subjects. 

Is copying sentences from a paper for new research “ethical”?

No, researchers who copy sentences from a paper without proper acknowledgment are considered plagiarism. This is also an unethical approach to research.

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• v.1(4); 2015 Nov

Making literature reviews more ethical: a researcher and health sciences librarian collaborative process

Bejoy thomas.

1 Department of Psychosocial & Rehabilitation Oncology, Tom Baker Cancer Centre, CancerContol Alberta, Alberta Health Services, Calgary, AB, T2S 3CI, Canada

2 Department of Oncology, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada

Admasu Tachble

Delshani peiris, rebecca malhi, glenys godlovitch.

3 Alberta Cancer Research Ethics Committee, CancerContol Alberta, Alberta Health Services, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada

Yongtao Lin

4 Knowledge Resource Service, Knowledge Management Department, Tom Baker Cancer Centre, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada

Background:

With emphasis on evidence-based medical care, ‘evidence’ is often the result of literature reviews. Hence, the critical question, “are literature reviews comprehensive?”

This study compares the literature generated by a researcher and a health sciences librarian (HSL).

The Research Associate and the HSL conducted a parallel, segregated literature search on ‘patient-centered care’.

The Research Associate identified 215 manuscripts, and the HSL 129 manuscripts. Overlap was only 55 manuscripts. Differences in process and blind spots are discussed.

Conclusion:

To improve the quality of research outcomes, it seems prudent and ethical to have a synergistic collaboration between researchers and HSLs. Given that this is just one case study that has looked into the issue, further research is strongly encouraged.

Lay abstract: Literature reviews are not just compilations of easily accessible research and should not be taken lightly. Literature reviews are critical to decision-making in clinical trials, medical care and directions of health systems. We wanted to see if researchers and health science librarians working in isolation would create a robust and balanced literature review. This case study showed that both approaches have shortcomings. We recommend that researcher and health science librarian must work together for the success of improving medical care.

Research is cumulative in nature, building on prior studies on the topic of interest. Thus, it is important for the researcher to have robust understanding of the extant knowledge. A comprehensive literature review will describe the research concepts, ground critical appraisal of previously published studies and identify gaps or inconsistencies in the knowledge base, which merit further investigation. Reviewing the literature requires several skills, and is usually done in one of two ways. In the first approach, the researcher (or the research team) critically evaluates relevant information and effectively scans the literature for both breadth and depth of information, to the best of their ability [ 1 ]. Consequently, the researcher/team's capacity to locate and access appropriate studies influences the quality of the research reviewed [ 2 ].

The second option is to engage the services of a health sciences librarian (HSL) with in-depth knowledge of various evidence resources and the professional training to conduct comprehensive literature searches. The comparative advantage researchers have by working with a HSL in the research process is well documented [ 3–7 ]. Yet, the librarian often tends to have a subordinate role and the partnership could be summarized as ‘we (the researcher) gave them the key words, they had a few questions for us, and a week later we got the reference list’. Can the literature review process be optimized? In this case report, we compare the results of literature reviews conducted by a researcher and a HSL.

Review teams

Two separate teams were created for the literature search with a principal investigator (PI) taking the role of independent subject expert in each. One team was comprised of a PhD-trained research associate (RA; A Tachble) and the PI (B Thomas). The other team was comprised of the HSL (Master of Library Information Sciences; Y Lin) and the PI. The PI facilitated the process but did not share information between groups. Thus, both teams conducted parallel, segregated literature searches on the same topic.

Literature review procedure

The literature review process was conducted in four steps: determine the topic of interest; define inclusion and exclusion criteria; compile the literature (total hits); and evaluate the literature to determine ‘relevant hits’ by relevance of the identified literature to the topic of interest (e.g., use of token keyword); a predefined context or setting ; the nature of each hit – is it original (clinical) research or a theoretical stance; and if the original research's methodology could facilitate a decision process to clinical practice (i.e., is process A better than, or equivalent or cost effective, among others compared with process B?)

In the first step, we determined the existing background information on the chosen topic – ‘patient-centered care’ – and began a broad-scale search to identify concepts and to create a provisional list of keywords: patient-centered care, family-centered care, cancer, malignant neoplasm, chronic disease(s), tertiary care, rural care and healthcare provider. For step two, we defined the inclusion criteria (articles published during 2000 and onwards, English language and print/electronic media access to full text, among others) and exclusion criteria (non-English language, personal communications, nonelectronic materials, publications dated prior to 2000 and pediatric/pediatric population) for the literature. The PI then provided these to the RA and the librarian.

The literature search (the third step) included searching through electronic research databases, conference proceedings, dissertation abstracts among others to identify published articles, reports and works in progress. Both teams accessed Cochrane, PsycInfo and MEDLINE data sources to locate published studies/literature addressing patient-centered care. In addition to these, the librarian also searched EMBASE, EBSCO Business Source Complete and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), ProQuest Dissertations and Thesis and Web of Science. The RA accessed PubMed and Google Scholar as well.

The literature reviews were evaluated and scored using the following metric:

• Relevance of the identified literature to the topic of patient or family centeredness (10 points);
• Context or setting: cancer (10 points) or chronic disease(s) (5 points);
• Nature of manuscript: original research (e.g., clinical practice; 10 points) or theoretical concept (literature review, hypothesis among others)? (5 points);
• If the study had an evaluation component and/or used a study design to differentiate between study groups (5 points, respectively) in the manuscript.

The RA and the PI completed the shortlisted manuscript scoring for both teams. A cutoff score for relevance was set at 20 points.

Results are displayed in Figure 1 . The RA obtained 1275 total hits with 215 manuscripts meeting the cutoff score for relevance. The librarian obtained 1232 hits, with 184 manuscripts meeting the relevant scoring criteria. Among the relevant manuscripts, there was a general overlap of 55 (16% of final literature capture) manuscripts between the two teams. The total unique literature capture was 344 manuscripts. The librarian's unique contribution to this literature capture (excluding the general overlap) was 129 manuscripts (37.5% of the final literature capture). Similarly, the unique contribution of the RA was 160 manuscripts (46.5%).

HSL: Health science librarian; PI: Principal investigator.

In this case study, we note two intertwined but critical aspects. First, the literature capture process by a researcher is a function of their training and experience. The hits obtained here are therefore unique to this researcher (A Tachble); other researchers may have higher or lower hit rates. This leads us to the process resulting in this variance. The librarian worked from the key words and used possible subject headings, related keywords and synonyms to refine a search process. Given that librarians are well acquainted with the anatomy of literature, they work from a very algorithmic process of deductive steps – from creating a very large catchment area, and reducing it by incorporating the exclusion criteria, and honing in on the critical mass by utilizing the inclusion criteria, to subject heading or other control vocabularies. This process of using documented search strategies is replicable between most librarians. Even a few researchers possibly follow these steps. Yet, we believe that most researchers will use databases to create citation lists – particularly databases like PubMed and Google Scholar. This is in essence browsing and utilizes snowballing techniques like perusing through the bibliography of identified hits. Interestingly, searching the term ‘Google Scholar’ in PubMed retrieves about 3926 results, as of August 2015. It would also seem that the 768 + 122 unique hits obtained by the researcher is a result of snowballing and being able to review its content as opposed to capturing it algorithmically; in other words, the manuscript may not be accurately represented by keywords and by extension of medical subject headings (MeSH) and other indexed terms.

The second important interrelated aspect we raise is time utilized by the researcher to compile the literature search. In this case study, the researcher took about 4 weeks to compile 1275 hits. Not all researchers have the luxury of an extended period of time to undertake a comprehensive literature review alone [ 8 ]. In contrast, the librarian would normally take 1–2 days to create and run algorithms, scan the results and rerun the algorithms with a few tweaks to improve or fine-tune the results.

We therefore contend that a literature review by a researcher alone may not be comprehensive using methods of browsing and snowballing. This is quite obvious in Figure 1 where 49 manuscripts that were identified by both teams were not included in the researchers’ final list, primarily because the full manuscript/source document could not be identified. Although their training in resource identification and retrieval is indispensable [ 9–11 ], the expectation that the literature search being the HSL's sole responsibility is – in our opinion – flawed. Our case study seems to indicate that in order to accomplish a literature search with due diligence, a deliberate researcher–HSL collaboration is necessary. Perhaps working in isolation from each other, then collating their findings could be a ‘best practice’ that produces a robust and comprehensive knowledge set.

Even though this is a single case study, and further research is strongly encouraged, from an ethics perspective, these results have important implications for clinical and institutional practices. Patients place their trust in clinicians to provide expert advice and care and in healthcare institutions to facilitate the delivery of good clinical practice through sound, well-informed guidelines. Clinical teams and institutions are legally and ethically bound to provide care that is partly knowledge-based, partly policy-based and partly skills-based. Each of these aspects has its relevant standard that is to be matched or surpassed by competent practitioners. The imperatives of evidence-based medicine are to: ensure that clinicians are aware of what would provide their patient populations with the best care and interventions possible, and inform institutional policy-makers about the relevant options in determining policy. Our findings suggest that the quality of the literature review yielded by the researcher–HSL partnership would satisfy these imperatives.

There are systemic implications too. One is with respect to informing development of clinical guidelines. The presentation of incomplete information may tend to generate an underinformed practice guideline that if implemented could result in causing avoidable harms (or perhaps even in misunderstood benefits). Another systemic implication is that by placing reliance on one form of literature review over the other, the direction of future research could become skewed. As the differences between results for the two searches show, literature blind spots arise. An author is not well placed to be able to report his or her own blind spots, but once published in a peer-reviewed forum, the article or report takes on a certain authority and lives a life of its own in future literature reviews. Any one viewpoint can only tell the story from its own perspective even when done with the good intention of generating evidence-based guidance for actual clinical decision-making. With this in mind, the advantage of having a multiple expertise-enriched literature review is obvious.

Conclusion & future perspective

The results of this single case study demonstrate the advantages that researchers could have by not only involving professional librarians but also by becoming active participants in the literature search endeavor. The ethical implication of the absence of this process is large given the blind spots in the current way of doing literature reviews. For quality control purposes, we believe that that journal editors and peer-reviewers should have a checklist or a process in place to ensure that due diligence in the literature review has been done on any new submission.

Executive summary

• A comprehensive literature review is the cornerstone of any scientific research endeavor.
• Literature reviews are usually conducted by a researcher/team or by a health sciences librarian (HSL).
• The literature capture processes used by researchers and HSLs working in isolation from each other – ‘browsing’ versus ‘algorithmic searching’ – are different, and both lead to blind spots.
• To accomplish due diligence in a literature search – which has ethical and systemic implications – a deliberate researcher–HSL collaboration is necessary.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Informed consent disclosure

The authors state that they have obtained verbal and written informed consent from the patient/patients for the inclusion of their medical and treatment history within this case report.

Open access

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/