Values-led nursing research

Abstract Nursing research is the mechanism by which the profession develops its theoretical knowledge, advances understanding, and tests ideas related to the principles and practice of nursing. By virtue of the nature of nursing itself, the conduct of nursing research encompasses the full spectrum of methodological approaches, ranging across clinical trials, systematic reviews, phenomenological enquiry, ethnographic studies, and discourse analysis. However, the conduct of nursing research always involves people, so all the nursing values, knowledge, and skills relevant to general nursing practice are also central to nursing research. Any research which involves people is bound by the Declaration of Helsinki, a statement of ethical principles governing research which involves human beings and including research conducted on identifiable human material and data. People taking part in nursing research studies may be vulnerable on account of their health condition or their position as a ‘patient’. This means that, through participation in nursing research studies, they may be exposed to a degree of risk, such as a risk of exploitation, psychological harm, or physical harm, or risk of disclosure of information about them or their condition. This chapter considers the key principles underpinning ethical nursing research which respects the dignity, rights, safety, well-being, and integrity of participants at all times.