ArticleThe American journal of bioethics : AJOB2009
The role of empirical research in bioethics.
Article in The American journal of bioethics : AJOB, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 56 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
56 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Bioethics at the intersection of politics, society, and healthcare: the significance of media debate analyses.BMC medical ethics · 2025Pooled it
- A systematic review of empirical bioethics methodologies.BMC medical ethics · 2015Pooled it
- Empirical Bioethics-Historical, Philosophical, and Methodological Perspectives.Journal of bioethical inquiry · 2026Article
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- The ethics of using virtual assistants to help people in vulnerable positions access care.Journal of medical ethics · 2025Article
- Dual-roles and beyond: values, ethics, and practices in forensic mental health decision-making.Medicine, health care, and philosophy · 2025Article
- Exploring mutation carriers' preferences regarding onset and progression of disease predictions for adult-onset genetic neurodegenerative diseases: a qualitative interview study.Human genetics · 2025Article
- Examining Practices Related to Ethical Aspects in eHealth Evaluation Research: Protocol for a Scoping Review.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- Ethical Design of Data-Driven Decision Support Tools for Improving Cancer Care: Embedded Ethics Review of the 4D PICTURE Project.JMIR cancer · 2025Review
- Exploring health and disease concepts in healthcare practice: an empirical philosophy of medicine study.BMC medical ethics · 2024Article
- A Mixed-Methods Study Exploring Colombian Adolescents' Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services: The Need for a Relational Autonomy Approach.Journal of bioethical inquiry · 2024Article
- Values, decision-making and empirical bioethics: a conceptual model for empirically identifying and analyzing value judgements.Theoretical medicine and bioethics · 2023Article
- The risk of normative bias in reporting empirical research: lessons learned from prenatal screening studies about the prominence of acknowledged limitations.Theoretical medicine and bioethics · 2023Article
- Digital bioethics: introducing new methods for the study of bioethical issues.Journal of medical ethics · 2023Article
- Towards trust-based governance of health data research.Medicine, health care, and philosophy · 2023Article
- Empirical studies on how ethical recommendations are translated into practice: a cross-section study on scope and study objectives.BMC medical ethics · 2023Article
- Acceptable objectives of empirical research in bioethics: a qualitative exploration of researchers' views.BMC medical ethics · 2022Article
- Providing health care in politically charged contexts: a qualitative study about experiences during a public collective hunger strike of asylum seekers in Germany.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2022Article
- Pandemic preparedness and responsiveness of research review committees: lessons from review of COVID-19 protocols at KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme in Kenya.Wellcome open research · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
Abstract
There has long been tension between bioethicists whose work focuses on classical philosophical inquiry and those who perform empirical studies on bioethical issues. While many have argued that empirical research merely illuminates current practices and cannot inform normative ethics, others assert that research-based work has significant implications for refining our ethical norms. In this essay, I present a novel construct for classifying empirical research in bioethics into four hierarchical categories: Lay of the Land, Ideal Versus Reality, Improving Care, and Changing Ethical Norms. Through explaining these four categories and providing examples of publications in each stratum, I define how empirical research informs normative ethics. I conclude by demonstrating how philosophical inquiry and empirical research can work cooperatively to further normative ethics.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.