The aim of the article is to present key code as a research tool for analysing the content of texts in terms of ethics. The key code contains determinants of communication ethics, selected on the basis of a review of research on ethics of words, thanks to which the indicated tool can be the basis for the analysis of individual aspects of ethics in communication.
Using the presented key code can make qualitative text analysis more systematic by clearly indicating groups of behaviours that meet linguistic ethical standards and those that break them. The tool gives grounds for easier verification of research and its enrichment with a quantitative aspect. Reflection on ethics in language can be made comprehensive and more objective by using the presented key code.