The Ethics of Research with Human Subjects

This book provides a framework for approaching ethical and policy dilemmas in research with human subjects from the perspective of trust. It explains how trust is important not only between investigators and subjects but also between and among other stakeholders involved in the research enterprise, including research staff, sponsors, institutions, communities, oversight committees, government agencies, and the general public. The book argues that trust should be viewed as a distinct ethical principle for research with human subjects that complements other principles, such as autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice. The book applies the principle of trust to numerous issues, including informed consent, confidentiality, risk minimization, risks and benefits, protection of vulnerable subjects, experimental design, research integrity, and research oversight.This work also includes discussions of the history of research involving human subjects, moral theories and principles,contemporary cases, and proposed regulatory reforms. The book is useful for undergraduate and graduate students studying ethical policy issues related to research with human subjects, as well as for scientists and scholars who are interested in thinking about this topic from the perspective of trust.

• ethics of research
• research with human subjects
• moral theory
• research integrity
• ethics and informed consent
• research ethics
• human research ethics
• the perspective of trust
• ethical research dilemmas
• research design and benefits
• special duties of beneficence

• National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, USA

  David B. Resnik

Dr. Resnik has an M.A. and Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and J.D. from Concord University School of Law. He received his B.A. in philosophy from Davidson College.  Dr. Resnik was an Associate and Full Professor of Medical Humanities at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University (ECU) from 1998-2004, and an Associate Director of the Bioethics Center at ECU and University Health Systems from 1998-2004.  Dr. Resnik was Assistant and Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Wyoming (UW) from 1990-1998, and Director of the Center for the Advancement of Ethics at UW from 1995-1998. Dr. Resnik has published over 200 articles on various topics in philosophy and bioethics and is the author of 8 books. He serves on several editorial boards and is an Associate Editor of the journal Accountability in Research. Dr. Resnik is also Chair of the NIEHS Institutional Review Board.  Dr. Resnik’s research interests focus on ethical,philosophical, and legal issues in scientific research.  

Policies and ethics