Explain beneficence and how it relates to research ethics

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Beneficence represents the expected impact on a person's well-being that may result from participation in research. Researchers should attempt to maximize the benefits of participation and take steps to identify and limit the potential for harm. This is typically done when planning a study by a careful risk/benefit assessment. Risk of harm and probability of benefit is assessed most importantly at the level of the individual participant, but researchers are also obliged to consider the impact on families, communities, and society in general. When assessing risk, researchers should try to think about worst-case scenarios—situations with significant potential for harm even if the probability seems low. The term "no greater than minimal risk" has become an important threshold in risk assessment. It means that the risk of harm is not greater than that experienced in everyday life situations such as typical academic or medical examinations. If an outside authority determines that this threshold is exceeded, then a research proposal will receive greater scrutiny in the review process, and specific safeguards must be implemented in the protocol. If the minimal risk threshold appears reasonable, then researchers may obtain a waiver of written informed consent. A very common situation in which a signed consent form may not be necessary is online survey research in which consent is implied by participation.