What Is Ethics in Research and Why Is It Important

When most people think of ethics (or morals), they think of rules for distinguishing between right and wrong, such as the Golden Rule (Do unto others as you would have them do unto you), a code of professional conduct like the Hippocratic Oath (First of all, do no harm), a religious creed like the Ten Commandments (Thou Shalt not kill...), or a wise aphorisms like the sayings of Confucius. This is the most common way of defining ethics: norms for conduct that distinguish between acceptable and unac‐ ceptable behavior.