ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the key debates in social science research ethics. The systematic study of ethics is linked to ancient Greek civilization, and it included both the study of the underlying basis for shaping judgments in specific situations of what constitutes appropriate conduct and the essence of the judgments themselves. The concept of consent can be traced back to Egyptian civilization but also that of the Greeks and Romans. The perils and horrors of the Nazi medical experimentation resulted in Western powers initiating and developing the Nuremberg Code, which brought forth the principle of 'do no harm', which constitutes the bulwark of bioethics followed by medical practitioners. the context of cross-cultural research, critical research ethics has come into prominence as it questions social contexts in which research is carried out is not merely focused on research participants to prevent further subjectification.
