Demonstrating Patterns in the Views Of Stakeholders RegardingEthically-Salient Issues in Clinical Research: A Novel Use of Graphical Models inEmpirical Ethics Inquiry

摘要

BackgroundEmpirical ethics inquiry works from the notion that stakeholder perspectives are necessary for gauging the ethical acceptability of human studies and assuring that research aligns with societal expectations. Although common, studies involving different populations often entail comparisons of trends that problematize the interpretation of results. Using graphical model selection – a technique aimed at transcending limitations of conventional methods – this report presents data on the ethics of clinical research with two objectives: (1) to display the patterns of views held by ill and healthy individuals in clinical research as a test of the study’s original hypothesis and (2) to introduce graphical model selection as a key analytic tool for ethics research.