Protecting nurse survey participants: Ethical considerations for conducting survey research among nurses

Abstract

The nurse perspective is critical in survey research investigating various aspects of healthcare services, staff, and patient outcomes. Researchers are responsible for ensuring that survey research utilizing survey questionnaires employs research methodological strategies that are aligned with the ethical principles of beneficence, respect for persons, and justice. The purpose of this paper is to discuss best practices to facilitate high-quality survey data collection for nurse survey participants. Recommendations are based on the fundamental ethical principles described in the Belmont Report, an overview of evidence published in the current literature, and the application of practical knowledge. Literature searches conducted in PubMed resulted in the inclusion of over 50 articles from a wide range of disciplines. The results include actionable methods for researchers to consider and follow when conducting survey research utilizing nurse participants. This article serves as a resource to guide researchers through ethically responsible design, implementation, and reporting of nurse survey research.

Using item response theory to develop a shortened practice environment scale of the nursing work index

“…Longer questionnaires may result in increased time needed to collect data, higher data maintenance costs, and greater participant response burden which could lead to a lower response rate and poor quality of responses (Hugick & Best, 2008). Recommendations for survey research suggest that survey questionnaires should contain fewer than 50 items and take <20 min for participants to complete, though under 10 min is preferable (Campbell et al, 2021; Story & Tait, 2019). One study from the Netherlands suggests that among younger participants, surveys taking <5 min are ideal, particularly if the surveys are completed on smartphones (Lugtig & Luiten, 2021).…”