Clinical research and trials are essential endeavors that drive the advancement of medical knowledge and the development of new treatments and interventions.

Abstract
Clinical research and trials are essential endeavors that drive the advancement of medical knowledge and the development of new treatments and interventions. Clinical research involves the systematic investigation of health-related questions in human participants, with the aim of improving our understanding of diseases, their causes, and potential therapies. In addition, researchers have widely applied clinical research to facilitate advancements in generalizable knowledge and understanding of human health and illnesses. Clinical trials, in particular, are carefully designed and regulated studies that evaluate the safety and efficacy of new drugs, medical devices, or interventions. These trials are conducted in multiple phases, starting with small-scale studies to assess safety and dosing, followed by larger-scale trials to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention in comparison to existing treatments or placebo controls. The importance of clinical research and clinical trials cannot be overstated. They provide the scientific evidence necessary for the development and approval of new medical treatments, ultimately leading to improved patient outcomes and better healthcare practices. Without these rigorous and controlled studies, the advancement of medical knowledge and the introduction of new therapies would be significantly hindered. Adherence to guidelines and regulations aims to ensure the rights and welfare of participants are protected. This literature review highlights the unethical practices in clinical research and trials.

Intro- Review/ rewrite this part only.( Use same references)- follow the outline pls
“Clinical research and trials can be described as studying people’s illnesses. Scientists can apply two approaches in clinical studies, including clinical trials and clinical research (Wang & Ji, 2020). Under clinical research, researchers acquire human health and illness data by monitoring them in their normal living environments. Notably, medical therapies and treatments are not employed in clinical research (Wang & Ji, 2020). Rather, participants can answer certain questions presented to them by researchers to investigate certain aspects related to health and illnesses, such as cognitive ability tests. On the other hand, clinical trials entail investigating the efficacy and safety of new treatments, drugs, and prevention measures on human participants (Bentley et al., 2019). Further, Bentley et al. (2019) pinpoint that researchers applying the clinical trials approach must identify the side effects of new treatments or drugs and compare them with existing ones to determine the overall effectiveness of the new approaches.
Clinical trials and clinical research have been applied in numerous contexts to facilitate advancement in clinical knowledge and understanding of human illnesses (Naseer et al., 2021). For instance, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) uses clinical trials to test whether certain drugs made for use by humans meet all the US Pharmacopeia (USP) standards sets (Naseer et al., 2021). The FDA applies clinical trials in three phases to ascertain the effectiveness and safety of drugs and interventions being tested and their viability and usability by the general population (Schwartz et al., 2016). Additionally, clinical trials have been used in more complex clinical studies on human specimens, such as stem cell treatment. Barker et al. (2018) revealed that the complexity of stem cell interventions makes a comprehensive, independent review to minimize risks and ensure solid evidence of preclinical efficacy with a clear scientific rationale. Stem cell research involves ethically complex issues, but many countries lack relevant laws and policies. Additionally, the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) guidelines help fill gaps and provide guidance (Barker et al., 2018; Lovell-Badge et al., 2021). Research should be well-designed and executed properly without fabrication, falsification, or misrepresentation of data, which builds public trust in the research community. Besides, the Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) are responsible for reviewing research protocols involving human subjects to ensure adherence to ethical guidelines and regulatory requirements, as they aim to minimize risks and ensure the rights and welfare of participants are protected (Laventhal, Tarini, & Lantos, 2012).
Certain general unethical practices are predominantly evident in clinical research and clinical trials, such as testing procedures, data handling, and sample management (Rajendran et al., 2019). In addition, plagiarism, conflict of interests, and ghost authorship are also unethical practices in clinical research and trials (Halpern et al., 2021). Sample management refers to the processes involved in collecting and storing samples in clinical research, including pre and post-analysis storage and documentation (Redrup et al., 2016). Some unethical practices in sample management might be experienced if researchers do not follow the protocols and guidelines for sample management (Redrup et al., 2016). Data handling is also vital in clinical research and trials, and it entails proper keeping of records and collected data, more so when dealing with human participants (Krishnankutty et al., 2012). Such data must not be disclosed to third parties or unauthorized authorities (Krishnankutty et al., 2012). Unethical practices might also be experienced during the testing procedures in clinical research. For instance, clinical trials might include different tests, such as genetic tests, laboratory tests, and image tests (Maxim, Niebo, & Utell, 2014). When such tests are not ethically conducted or guidelines and protocols are not observed, they can regarded as unethical behaviors (Maxim et al., 2014). Ghost authorship refers to the unethical practice of getting help from authors to help the researcher in clinical research without disclosing them, whereas plagiarism can be described as using people’s work either by copying or replicating their ideas without accrediting or referencing their work (Bavdekar, 2012). Finally, the conflict of interest is the unethical practice in clinical research involving secondary influences, such as research sponsors planning, conducting, or reporting clinical research and clinical trials (Østengaard et al., 2020). Some real-life examples of conflicts of interest are Pfizer and pharma fraud.
After understanding clinical research and trials and discussing some examples of unethical issues surrounding them, it is important to delve more into some historical cases of unethical behaviors (White, 2020). Table 1 below shows historical cases linking to unethical practices.

Last Completed Projects