Such principles can guide an individual personally as well as professionally. Autonomy refers to the recognition and respect for an individual's right to live with free choice. Nonmaleficence requires not causing harm to others. Beneficence refers to the positive contribution to the welfare of others. Justice requires treating people with equality and fairness.
Fidelity refers to loyalty and to promise-keeping.
There is considerable support for some form of written code or guidelines for ethical conduct in a professional context. One option would be to use existing standards. The study validated all the primary standards with a high consensus. As well, a secondary propriety standard that supported using a standard code of ethics, such as from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council or the Canadian Psychological Association, was validated by the study. Such existing standards and codes can provide a useful initial starting point for the development of specific ethical guidelines.