Which ethical principles need to be followed in a research project dealing…
2024
Which ethical principles need to be followed in a research project dealing with human beings?
A. All participants must give their informed consent
B. All participants should have adequate information on the experiment in which they are participants
C. Rough treatment of participants is sometimes justifiable
D. Some unwilling participants may be included
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer: B. A and B only — Concept. Research that enrols human beings is governed by respect for persons and by non-maleficence: a person may take part only through a free, informed…
- A.
A and D only
- B.
A and B only
- C.
B, C and D only
- D.
B and C only
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Concept. Research that enrols human beings is governed by respect for persons and by non-maleficence: a person may take part only through a free, informed decision that they remain able to withdraw, and the researcher carries a standing duty not to inflict avoidable harm. Every modern code of research ethics — the Nuremberg Code, the Declaration of Helsinki and the Belmont Report — turns those two ideas into the same operative requirements, and an ethical principle is by definition one of those requirements, not a licence to depart from them.
Informed consent — participation is authorised by the participant, in advance, and can be revoked at any time.
Adequate disclosure — the purpose, procedure, duration and foreseeable risks of the study are explained in terms the participant can understand; this is the "informed" half of consent.
Voluntariness — enrolment is free of coercion, pressure or inducement; a person who does not wish to take part is not a participant.
Non-maleficence — the participant is protected from physical or psychological harm, and avoidable harm is never traded against convenience or results.
Application. Test each listed statement against those requirements:
Statement | Requirement it engages | Standing in research ethics |
|---|---|---|
A — every participant gives informed consent | Informed consent (respect for persons) | A duty the researcher must follow |
B — every participant has adequate information on the experiment | Adequate disclosure | A duty the researcher must follow |
C — rough treatment of participants is sometimes justifiable | Non-maleficence | A breach: harm is not made permissible by circumstance |
D — some unwilling participants may be included | Voluntariness | A breach: enrolment without willingness is coercion |
Cross-check. Statements C and D are not weaker principles, they are the negations of two of them: C sets aside protection from harm, and D sets aside free consent, so neither can appear in a list of principles that "need to be followed". Any selection that carries either statement therefore fails as a whole, however sound its other members are. Only the pairing of informed consent with adequate disclosure keeps both requirements intact — and note that these two are not independent, since disclosure is what makes the consent informed rather than merely obtained.
Result. The ethical principles to be followed in research on human beings are those stated in A and B only.