Research made simple: ethics committee approval

• Published in: Evidence-based nursing Vol. 26; no. 2; pp. 47 - 48
• Main Authors: Parkinson, Ben, Barrett, David
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and RCN Publishing Company Ltd 01.04.2023; BMJ Publishing Group LTD
• Subjects: Audits; Committees; Consent; Ethics; Ethics Committees; Funding; Humans; Medical research; Nursing; Nursing Research; Publishing; Research ethics; Research made simple; Researchers; Risk assessment; Well being; United Kingdom > UK; Nursing Research; Ethics
• ISSN: 1367-6539; 1468-9618; 1468-9618
• DOI: 10.1136/ebnurs-2022-103643

Nursing research often involves collection of data from human participants. Participants involved with research may be vulnerable, acutely unwell or even lack capacity to make decisions. Protecting the safety and well-being of all participants is a requirement and nurse researchers need to ensure the ethical principles of autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence and justice are maintained throughout the research process.1To protect participants, research studies are subject to approval by research ethics committees (RECs)—sometimes called research ethics boards or institutional review boards.1 Securing REC approval can be a complex process, requiring nurse researchers to demonstrate that the proposed study meets the necessary ethical and research governance requirements for research involving human participants. This paper will provide an overview of the role of RECs and offer guidance to nurse researchers applying for REC approval.