The Future of Empirical Research in Bioethics

• Published in: The Journal of law, medicine & ethics Vol. 32; no. 2; pp. 226 - 231
• Main Author: Sugarman, Jeremy
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 22.06.2004; SAGE Publications; Sage Publications, Inc; Cambridge University Press
• Subjects: Advisory Committees; Bioethics; Bioethics - trends; Empirical methods; Empirical Research; Ethics, Research; Forecasting; Forecasts and trends; Humans; Informed Consent; Market trend/market analysis; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Morals; Research Subjects; Social science research; Theory; Washington DC; Empirical Approach; Bioethics and Professional Ethics
• ISSN: 1073-1105; 1748-720X
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-720X.2004.tb00469.x

Empirical research in bioethics can be defined as the application of research methods in the social sciences (such as anthropology, epidemiology, psychology, and sociology) to the direct examination of issues in [bioethics]. As such, empirical work is a form of descriptive ethics, focused on describing a particular state of affairs that has some moral or ethical relevance. For example, empirical research can help to describe cultural beliefs about the appropriateness of providing health-related information, such as the diagnosis of a life-threatening illness, which informs deliberations about the extent to which it is morally important for clinicians to provide comprehensive information to patients in different cultural contexts. Similarly, empirical research can delineate popular attitudes and experiences related to contentious issues such as abortion, cloning, stem-cell research, and physician-assisted suicide to enlighten discussions and policy formulations regarding them.