Research Ethics
While conducting a research pertaining human lives, the researchers must consider the moral aspects of the study. Moral elements guide scholars on the DOs and DONTs during selection of participants and ensure activities the participants take part in are safe and sound. When scientists utilize human beings to achieve the objectives of a study, they must protect their lives, health and see to it that no harm comes to them. In addition, Codes of ethics associated with social science fail to give elaborate regulations for researchers to adhere to; rather they stipulate standards, which map out the researcher’s decision making process. Thus, secrecy and deception creep in through loopholes created by weak regulations. However, researchers have to ensure the people acknowledge what they are getting themselves into as subjects of the research or study.
The Nuremberg Code and Research Ethics
The roots of research ethics goes back to Nuremberg military tribunal, which took place in the late 1940s. A group of Nazi medical experts took part in horrendous World War II ‘experimentations’. During the experiments, thousands of people died due to torture in the concentration camps. In addition, twenty-three medical experts stood trial at Nuremberg but only sixteen were guilty of war crime charges. Nuremberg code was an agreed upon moral and ethical rules. The guidelines came into play every time researchers conducted experiments on humans. Under the Nuremberg code, scientist had to submit to certain responsibilities if the Nuremberg code was to take full effect. One of the responsibility of the researcher was to ensure the experiment yields positive outcomes for the community through legal means and the scientists need to protect their subjects from any injury during the entire procedure. In fact, only participant who give a go ahead would engage in the experiment.
The Zimbardo Experiment
Zimbardo and his peers wanted to obtain information on whether the cruelty described among prison law enforcers was due to sadistic traits, that is, dispositional or it was due to prison surroundings or situational. For instance, the prisoners and prison law enforcers may have opposite personalities, hence increasing chances of a conflict between them. The experiment was to last for 14 days. However, it came to a halt after 6 days due to the conditions in which the participants were in. The guards were abusive and violent and the prisoners developed trauma and nervousness. When the prisoners became angry, the guards perceived them as dangerous.
Comparing Zimbardo and Nuremberg Code
In Nuremberg Code, human experiments caused death of numerous innocent people. Whereas in the Zimbardo experiment, the prison guards had total control of the prisoners and treated them with contempt and spite. In both experiments, the participants experience negative elements of the experiments. For instance, in the Zimbardo experiment, the guards punish prisoners and even beat them. Therefore, the two experiments breach research ethics.
Twitter Revolution
Social media is a commonly used technological tool. For the past few decades, social media influenced the dissemination of information across the globe and inspired social change all over the world. For instance, the death of an Iranian politician went viral after the footage went viral on various social media platforms. Even though the footage never brought about any noteworthy change, it awaken many Iranians through what people termed, ‘Twitter Revolution.’ Several days later after the assassination of eth Iranian politician, social media facilitated dissemination of information in other Arab nations hence resulting into a revolution.
