The practice of nursing research: getting ready for ‘ethics’ and the matter of character

Abstract

Few would argue with the idea that nursing research should be conducted ethically yet obtaining ethical approval is considered by many to have become unnecessarily burdensome. This brief article investigates the idea that there might be a relationship between the level of perceived burdensomeness of the research ethics application process on the one hand and the character of the nurse-researcher on the other. Given that nurses are required to be other-regarding, a nurse who undertakes research primarily for self-regarding reasons would seem to be acting in ways inconsistent with the aims of nursing as set out in nursing codes. It is suggested that the self-regarding nurse-researcher may find the ethics application process more burdensome than the other-regarding nurse-researcher who, it is further suggested, is engaged with nursing research as a practice in the technical sense in which that term has been developed by the philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre.

Perceived Quality of Postoperative Handover by Saudi Nurses: A Single-Center Cross-Sectional Study

“…The researcher ensured that each participant was well-informed concerning the present research purpose and procedures. Furthermore, participants were assured that they have the freedom to withdraw from the study and that participation will not cause any risk or harm to their healthcare whatsoever [ 33 ].…”

Quality of Postoperative Handover as Perceived by Nurses in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…The researcher ensured that each participant was well informed concerning the present research purpose and procedures. Furthermore, participants were assured that they have the freedom to withdraw from the study and that participation will not cause any risk or harms to their health care whatsoever [33]. All nurses that met the inclusion criteria were invited to participate in the study.…”

Comments on research ethics and nursing student projects

“…Publication is the final stage of conducting research and it is my expectation that ethical aspects of the research question, methodology and consequences of publication must be raised at the beginning of the research process. Notwithstanding that obtaining ethical approval is burdensome, 5 time consuming, costly and may interfere with the time-plan for the study, permission from the ‘chief of staff’ to conduct the study is inadequate. In respect to the integrity of the respondents who are recruited to the study, if there are plans of publishing, their permission is required.…”