A nurses’ guide to ethical considerations and the process for ethical approval of nursing research

Abstract

Objective: A sound knowledge of the ethical principles that guide nursing practice and research are essential for any researcher. This article provides discussion regarding the principles as well as the history behind ethical practice in the construction of nursing research. The article also breaks down the process for achieving ethical consent and includes a simplified framework to guide the process of seeking ethical approval.

Primary Argument: Nurses new to the field of conducting research may benefit from an organised structure that helps them understand the sequence of events required to gain appropriate ethical approval and ensure an ethical approach is adopted. It is crucial for all researching nurses to understand, and adhere to, already well developed nationally and globally prescribed ethical and validated research study structures to be able to achieve ethical, valid and reliable research outcomes.

Conclusion: A framework is provided within this article to outline the process of gaining ethical consent for research. The information presented in the framework is based upon the discussion within the article and may assist the nurse researcher, who is unfamiliar with the process of obtaining ethics committee consent, to plan and prepare for their research approval, in a systematic logical manner. The framework reflects the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) criteria which guides Human Research Ethics Committees (HRECs). Nursing research needs to be able to ethically contribute to the body of Evidence Based Practice.