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Related Concept Videos

Ethics in Research01:56

Ethics in Research

Today, scientists agree that good research is ethical in nature and is guided by a basic respect for human dignity and safety. However, this has not always been the case. Modern researchers must demonstrate that the research they perform is ethically sound.
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Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast, controlled...
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Sometimes we want to see how people change over time, as in studies of human development and lifespan. When we test the same group of individuals repeatedly over an extended period of time, we are conducting longitudinal research. Longitudinal research is a research design in which data-gathering is administered repeatedly over an extended period of time. For example, we may survey a group of individuals about their dietary habits at age 20, retest them a decade later at age 30, and then again...
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Relative risk (RR) is a statistical measure commonly used in epidemiology to compare the likelihood of a particular event occurring between two groups. This metric is important for evaluating the relationship between exposure to a specific risk factor and the probability of a particular outcome. It plays a crucial role in medical research, public health studies, and risk assessment. Relative risk quantifies how much more (or less) likely an event is to occur in an exposed group compared to an...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 22, 2026

Working with Human Tissues for Translational Cancer Research
07:48

Working with Human Tissues for Translational Cancer Research

Published on: November 26, 2015

Limits to research risks.

F G Miller1, S Joffe

  • 1Department of Bioethics, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Building 10, Bethesda, Maryland 208921-156, USA. fmiller@nih.gov

Journal of Medical Ethics
|July 2, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Determining acceptable risks in human subject research is complex. This study argues against fixed limits on research risks but stresses caution when potential benefits are uncertain, especially concerning serious harm.

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Area of Science:

  • Biomedical Ethics
  • Research Oversight

Background:

  • Risk-benefit assessment is crucial for research ethics committees overseeing human subject research.
  • Balancing participant risks against societal benefits of biomedical knowledge remains challenging.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore criteria for permissible risks in human subject research.
  • To address the ethical considerations of risk-benefit analysis in biomedical studies.

Main Methods:

  • Philosophical analysis of ethical principles in research.
  • Review of existing frameworks for risk-benefit assessment.

Main Results:

  • Rejection of a priori limits on permissible research risks.
  • Emphasis on the uncertainty of social benefits influencing risk assessment.

Conclusions:

  • No universal cap on research risks is ethically justifiable.
  • Caution is warranted when substantial harm is a likely outcome and social benefits are uncertain.