What Are the Basic Ethical Principles That Should Underlie the Conduct of Research Involving Human Subjects?
There are three ethical principles important to research: autonomy, beneficence, and justice. Autonomy is the fundamental ethical principle underlying self determination and informed consent. Beneficence is the fundamental ethical principle guiding the health care surrogates and health care providers to act in the best interest of the research subject. Justice is a fundamental principle in research subject solicitation. Consent is based on the principle of autonomy. This principle establishes a person’s right to make a free and informed choice about whether to participate, not participate, or withdraw from a research study. Autonomy is based on the fundamental principle of respect for persons. There is no requirement that individuals be prevented from participating in a research study that involves risk. They must, however, be told about any potential risk(s) and be allowed to decide freely whether or not to enter the study. If autonomy is diminished (the person is unconscious, unable
