Exploring Partial Disclosure in Research: Challenges, Justifications, and Recommendations for Ethical Oversight

Area of Science:

• Medical Ethics
• Research Integrity
• Informed Consent

Background:

• Deception in research is ethically contentious, balancing informed consent with scientific validity.
• Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) guidelines categorize deception into active, incomplete, and authorized forms.
• This study focuses on the ethical justification and permissible use of incomplete (partial) disclosure in research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the ethical justification for incomplete disclosure in research.
• To identify permissible instances of partial disclosure.
• To examine the challenges faced by ethics committees in balancing scientific rigor and participant protection.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional research design.
• In-depth interviews were conducted with relevant stakeholders.
• Thematic analysis was employed to identify key themes.

Main Results:

• Ethics committees face challenges due to incomplete information hindering participant understanding.
• Partial deception complicates the ethical review process.
• Researchers struggle to balance disclosure requirements with study validity.

Conclusions:

• Partial disclosure in research requires strong ethical justification based on value, validity, and veracity.
• A framework for ethics committees is proposed to guide decisions on partial deception.
• Recommendations include minimizing partial deception and implementing institutional awareness campaigns and standard operating procedures.