Research ethics in nutrition education

Abstract

Public and professional concern about ethical issues in research is increasing, and oversight and control over research activities are expanding. Relatively little attention has been specifically devoted to research ethics in nutrition education, which is an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary field that uses research methods primarily from the social sciences. Existing ethical frameworks provide theories, principles, and rules applicable to nutrition education. Important ethical concepts and issues include informed consent, deception, privacy, anonymity, confidentiality, and randomization. Research misconduct has not been a major issue in nutrition education. No code of ethics exists specifically for nutrition education research, although ethical guidance may be sought from the codes of other organizations. Awareness and training in research ethics is important to insure high quality research and to prevent ethical problems in the future. Nutrition educators can benefit from increased consciousness about ethical issues in research, greater knowledge about basic ethical theories and practices, and obtaining, disseminating and developing ethical resources useful to nutrition education research activities.