What are NIH’s 7 principles of ethics in research?

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has defined seven principles to protect clinical research participants and promote research ethics:

Social and clinical value: the scientific advances of a research study should justify the costs or risks of conducting this research.

Scientific validity: a study should be designed to address an answerable question using feasible and accepted research methods.

Fair subject selection: participants should be selected based on the scientific aims of the study and should not be included or excluded for reasons unrelated to research goals.

Favorable risk-benefit ratio: the potential risks to participants should be minimized and should be outweighed by potential benefits.

Independent review: an independent review panel should ensure a study is ethical before research begins.

Informed consent: participants should decide whether to voluntarily participate in a study after learning about its research question, methods, potential risks, and benefits.

Respect for potential and enrolled subjects: individuals should be treated with respect throughout the research process.