The Nazi research programmes during the Second World War clearly identified that unethical research results in human suffering. Since then, many professional groups have developed codes of ethics for the conduct of their research. Although the details of these codes vary, they all seem to reflect that humans have rights to autonomy, privacy and freedom from harm. This paper examines these rights, and discusses how they can be applied to govern the conduct of all stages of the research process. Also considered are dilemmas that can be created for nurses by research into patient and nursing care. [NT Research 1996; 1 :3, 193-196]
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