Ethical Standards

The Belmont Report
The Belmont Report summarizes the basic ethical principles in human subject research.  It is the outgrowth of an intensive four-day period of discussions that were held in February 1976 at the Smithsonian Institution’s Belmont Conference Center supplemented by the monthly deliberations that were held over a period of nearly four years. It is a statement of basic ethical principles that should guide the resolution of ethical problems that may arise during research with human subjects.

 

The Nuremberg Code
The Nuremberg Code is a set of research ethics principles for research using human subjects.  This code is a result of the Subsequent Nuremberg Trials that took place at the end of the Second World War.  The Nuremberg Code consists of ten points. The Nuremberg Code and the related Declaration of Helsinki are the basis for the Code of Federal Regulations Title 45 Volume 46 which are the regulations issued by the United States Department of Health and Human Services governing federally-funded human subjects research in the United States.  The Nuremberg code includes such principles as informed consent, absence of coercion  and beneficence towards experiment participants.

 

World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki (PDF)
The World Medical Association developed the Declaration of Helsinki as a statement of ethical principles to provide guidance to physicians and other participants in medical research involving human subjects. Medical research involving human subjects includes research on identifiable human material or identifiable data.  The fundamental principle is respect for the individual and the right to make informed decisions  regarding participation in research.  The investigator’s duty is solely to the patient or volunteer.  In addition, the subject’s welfare must always take precedence over the interests of science and ethical considerations must always take precedence over laws and regulations.