Human research ethics in practice: deliberative strategies, processes and perceptions.

Abstract

In theory, HREC members should use the ethical guidelines in the National Statement on the Ethical Conduct of Research Involving Humans as the basis for their decisions, and researchers should design their research in accordance with these guidelines. However, very little is known about what researchers and HREC members actually do in practice. In this paper, we report some of the key findings of the study "Human Research Ethics in Practice", a qualitative interview-based study of health researchers and HREC members in Victoria. The findings shed light on how researchers and HREC members conceptualise ethics, how they use the National Statement, and what deliberative strategies they employ t..