Sanjari Mahnaz, Bahramnezhad Fatemeh, Fomani Fatemeh Khoshnava, Shoghi Mahnaz, Cheraghi Mohammad Ali
Nursing PhD Candidate, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Assistant Professor, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
J Med Ethics Hist Med. 2014 Aug 4;7:14. eCollection 2014.
Considering the nature of qualitative studies, the interaction between researchers and participants can be ethically challenging for the former, as they are personally involved in different stages of the study. Therefore, formulation of specific ethical guidelines in this respect seems to be essential. The present paper aimed to discuss the necessity to develop explicit guidelines for conducting qualitative studies with regard to the researchers' role. For this purpose, a literature review was carried out in domestic and international databases by related keywords. Health care providers who carry out qualitative research have an immense responsibility. As there is no statistical analysis in qualitative studies, the researcher has to both evaluate what he or she observes and to interpret it. Providing researchers with the necessary skills and applying stringent supervision can lead to better extraction of reliable information from qualitative studies. This article presents a debate in order to illustrate how researchers could cover the ethical challenges of qualitative studies and provide applicable and trustworthy outcomes. Researchers face ethical challenges in all stages of the study, from designing to reporting. These include anonymity, confidentiality, informed consent, researchers' potential impact on the participants and vice versa. It seems of paramount importance that health care providers, educators and clinicians be well informed of all the different aspects of their roles when acting as qualitative researchers. Hence, these adroit roles need to be well defined, and the use of practical guidelines and protocols in all stages of qualitative studies should be encouraged.
考虑到定性研究的性质，研究人员与参与者之间的互动在伦理方面可能给前者带来挑战，因为他们亲身参与研究的不同阶段。因此，在这方面制定具体的伦理准则似乎至关重要。本文旨在讨论就研究人员的角色而言，为开展定性研究制定明确准则的必要性。为此，通过相关关键词在国内外数据库中进行了文献综述。进行定性研究的医疗保健提供者肩负着重大责任。由于定性研究中不存在统计分析，研究人员既要评估自己所观察到的内容，又要对其进行解读。为研究人员提供必要技能并实施严格监督能够从定性研究中更好地提取可靠信息。本文展开一场辩论，以说明研究人员如何应对定性研究中的伦理挑战并提供适用且可信的结果。研究人员在研究的各个阶段，从设计到报告，都会面临伦理挑战。这些挑战包括匿名性、保密性、知情同意、研究人员对参与者的潜在影响以及反之亦然。医疗保健提供者、教育工作者和临床医生在担任定性研究人员时充分了解其角色的所有不同方面似乎至关重要。因此，这些灵活的角色需要明确界定，并且应鼓励在定性研究的各个阶段使用实用指南和方案。
