The selected article is, “A cross-sectional study exploring the relationship between burnout, absenteeism, and job performance among American nurses” by Dyrbye et al. (2019). The purpose of the article is to explore the relationship between burnout and self-reported absenteeism and job performance among nurses.

Describe the participant protections provided by the researchers for participants.

Participants were nurses and their protection was ensured by seeking their informed consent to participate in the study, making participation voluntary, and keeping the responses anonymous.

How were the participants selected? How might this impact ethical principles within the study?

The participants were obtained from a random sample of registered nurses and these contacts were provided by Redi-Data, a company that stores postal and email addresses of all registered nurses from state licensing. However, participation was voluntary thereby making the study ethical.

Would the participants in this study be considered “vulnerable”? Why or why not?

Participants in the study are not vulnerable because they are not socially, economically, or emotionally disadvantaged. They have decision-making capabilities and can understand that their willingness to participate in the study is voluntary.

Were participants subjected to any physical harm or discomfort or psychological distress as part of the study? What efforts did the researchers make to minimize harm and maximize good?

Participants were not subjected to physical harm as the study did not involve any intervention but only sought information and feedback from the nurses. The participants were also informed about the purpose of the study so that they could make the decision on whether they wanted to participate.

Does the report discuss steps that were taken to protect the privacy and confidentiality of study participants?

The report mentions that all responses would remain anonymous and this helps to protect the privacy of participants. The researchers also did not share personal information of the participants with third parties and there was no identifying information reported.