This article reviews the basic ethical principles in research and provides an overview of the ethical guidelines stressing the imperative of informed consent. It also explains some of the reasons that the research must be conducted in accordance with specified ethical guidelines.
The necessity for informed consent in the research with human subjects was explored; a controversy which has existed among researchers. And the ethical and legal perspectives of informed consent, which is the central issue in research with human subjects, were presented. In addition, the justification in favor of compulsory informed consent in research, especially with the use of placebos and randomized clinical trials, was discussed. Furthermore, a special consideration of the rights of human subjects was emphasized in research involving children and the elderly.
In the last section, the purpose, role, and members of the Institutional Review Board for protecting the subject´s rights were discussed, and considerations for the committee selection and the operation of the Institutional Review Board were suggested.
In conclusion, nurses, above all, have a duty to protect the research subjects against harm and to respect their right to self-determination.
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