Graduate students' experience with research ethics

Abstract

What graduate students learn about research ethics forms their perceptions and impacts how they apply ethics principles in practice. Research Ethics Boards review and grant ethical approval for student research projects, and may provide additional support to these novice researchers. Existing literature explains how curriculum content, teaching approaches, the learning environment, and research relationships influence students’ learning. However, a gap exists with regards to fully understanding students' experience with research ethics. Qualitative descriptive inquiry was used to investigate the experience of eleven masters and doctoral students in health disciplines. Semi-structured interviews provided rich description of four themes focused on curriculum, supervisor support, the ethics application process, and the students’ overall experience. Suggestions are made for enhancing curriculum, deepening students’ relationships with supervisors, and the role Research Ethics Boards could play in their learning. The study contributes to comprehension of research ethics by describing what graduate students’ value as novice researchers.