Being a research participant: the nurse's ethical and legal rights.

Nurses and their patients/clients are increasingly being approached to participate in research projects conducted in the clinical setting. However, such research involving human participants raises many ethical and legal concerns. This article provides nurses with an overview of their rights when asked to participate in such research. The ethical and legal principles that must be respected when such research is being conducted are presented and questions to ask of the researcher suggested. The role of the nurse, as required by their professional duty of care, to protect patients' rights during research in the clinical setting is highlighted.