Replication data for Hierarchy of Ethical Principles

Background: Ethics is fundamental to all human interactions, yet understanding of its precise elements and their hierarchy remain superficial. Prior attempts to establish a ranking of ethical principles have yielded varied results, indicating the need for further exploration in this area. This study aims to contribute to the understanding of ethics by exploring the relative importance of its elements through a cross-sectional analysis. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the relative ranking of the elements of ethics including justice, nonmaleficence, autonomy, beneficence, fidelity, veracity, public good and loyalty, in order to establish a working hierarchy of the principles. Methods: Participants were tasked with evaluating ethical conflicts depicted in scenarios. Using a scale of 1 to 10, participants rated their preferred responses to each scenario, allowing for the comparison of different ethical principles. Statistical analysis, including independent samples t-tests, was employed to determine significant differences in preferences. Results: Analysis of participant responses revealed discernible trends in the hierarchy of ethical principles. Notably, justice, non-maleficence, lawfulness, and autonomy emerged as top-tier principles, while beneficence and fidelity constituted second-tier elements. Public good, veracity, and loyalty comprised the third tier. These findings align with and extend upon existing literature, providing valuable insights into the relative importance of ethical principles. Conclusion: Our results indicate that Justice, Nonmaleficence, Lawfulness, and Autonomy, were most important as first-tier principles. Following them, Beneficence and Fidelity were recognized as second-tier principles, with Public Good, Veracity, and Loyalty falling into the third tier.