Research ethics for human research and legal issues

Ethics is generally defined as the branch of philosophy that focuses on the establishment of right and wrong. The terms ‘research ethics’ and ‘research integrity’ are often used interchangeably. This chapter discusses human research ethics matters and the ethical practice responsibilities for researchers at all stages of a research project – from the rationale for the research through the design and data stages and then ongoing, such as how the outputs are disseminated. The important elements of ethical risks, consent, and privacy are considered. It is proposed that the feedback and recommendations from research ethics review panels should be viewed as a positive constructive approach to improve research project designs – not as a compliance and enforcement process.