All researchers hope that their hypotheses will be supported. Researchers
develop a passion for their topics that keeps them invested in their research.
However, researchers must use care when analyzing data and selecting alpha
levels. It is best if decisions about which statistical tests to conduct and which
alpha levels to use are made prior to implementing the study. These decisions
are usually presented, with strong rationales for the decisions, in the proposal
for the study. Although there are situations when it is appropriate to conduct
additional statistical tests, it is unethical for researchers to “go fishing” for
evidence to support their hypotheses.
Editors and research conference planners who review studies are faced with
making decisions about which studies warrant dissemination. Studies with signifi-
cant findings are much more likely to be accepted for presentation or publication.
Because nonsignificant findings have an important role in making decisions about
practice, decision makers, such as conference planners and journal publishers,
need to give more consideration to studies with nonsignificant findings.
Ignoring incidental findings that are pertinent to decision making is also
unethical. Incidental findings are findings that were not purposefully sought.
A dilemma can occur when an intervention is found to be effective, but inci-
dental findings, such as side effects or risks, are found to be associated with
True/False- Nurses should determine that researchers are using the correct statistical tests to
analyze data. - Data contained in tables are an important source of evidence for practice.
- All statistically significant findings have clinical significance.
- Reading the table after the text is a helpful strategy that can improve comprehension
of ideas.
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE 13-9
How did you do? 1. T; 2. T; 3. F; 4. T13.10 Keeping It Ethical
At the end of this section, you will be able to:
‹ Discuss ethical considerations when conducting statistical analyses13.10 Keeping It Ethical 373