The Belmont principle of Justice is a little trickier than the other 2 principles to
understand. It was developed in response to studies that exploited some of the
most vulnerable groups in society, such as the Tuskegee syphilis study and the
use of prisoners for drug studies. The easiest way to understand the principle
of justice is that the research project does not systematically exclude a
specific class or type of person who is likely to benefit from research
participation or who the results of a specific kind of research are likely
to be applied.
What does this mean? It means that if the results of the
study will be generalized to a particular population, then one group of people may not
be the only ones participating in the study. An example might be a drug study,
if you as the researcher want the drug to be ultimately taken by anyone; then
different races, ethnic groups and genders need to participate in the drug
trials.
How does this principle apply to your study? You must have a
very good reason for excluding anyone in your study. Carefully think
through to whom your study applies and how you will recruit them. Think through
the population in your area, is there any way to recruit people of different
races?
Over the last few posts, we have examined the bases of the
ethical principles used by the IRB in making decisions. Next time I will answer
a student question about bias in qualitative studies. Do you have an issue or a
question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to
be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu
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