Transcript Ethics in Research

Ethical Use of Statistics
in Research
Dr. Larry A. Nelson,
Professor Emeritus of Statistics and
Assistant Dean for International Programs,
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
I.
Background

Recent Interest

Development of a course on Research Ethics
- 1 hour credit
- To be required at some cooperating institutions
- One component – Ethical Use of Statistics
- Discuss Proposed content of the module today
- Value your ideas and comment

Importance of Statistics in Research
Credit to Michael Crotty. Marcia Gumpertz – moral support and guidance
for several years

Ethics in Application of Statistics
– Teaching, consulting for planning, execution, data
analysis and interpretation
– Overheard on NCSU Campus History Professor:
“Be suspicious of a professional who attempts to
develop a set of ethics for his or her own field”
– Undergraduate Student in Philosophy, “I hate
Ethics”
II.
Population, Process, Data Relationship

Relationships

Poor Practice – Making a Mistake or Misconduct:
Importance of competence and Maturity in Research and
use of Statistics

Objectivity and Trustworthiness

Objectivity in Asking Right Questions

Objectivity in Answering the Questions
III.
Responsibility of the Researcher and
Statistician
PLANNING PHASE
Researcher
Statistician
Seek statistical training
Keep up to date with statistical
technology
Seek statistical advice
Teach principles
Use minimum experiment size
Provide statistical input to plan
Select experimental material
properly
Give researcher different
alternatives
Develop detailed research plan
Exercise proper protocols for
human or animal experiments
EXECUTION PHASE
Research
Statistician
Carry out study as planned
Give road map/for
execution
Log important dates related
to data
Point out weak links in
research chain
ANALYSIS PHASE
Researcher
Statistician
Study data patterns
Assist in studying data patterns
Keep integrity of data set
Choose proper statistical
analytical procedure
Assist in choosing analytical
procedure
Choose probability levels,
contrasts to make, etc.
Assist in choosing probability
levels, contrasts, etc.
Avoid result guided procedures
Keep data, but not statistical
methods used, confidential
INTERPRETATION AND REPORTING
Researcher
Statistician
Provide description of
statistical methods
Assist in writing statistical
methods used
Present results in such a
Review interpretation.
way that reader can evaluate Modification if necessary
the interpretation
Report variability estimates
such an standard deviation
or variance
RESPONSIBILITY OF RESEARCHER AND
STATISTICIAN

Promote high standards of scientific inquiry and
professionalism

Involve appropriate techniques for research

Honor the rights of other researchers – give credit to other
researcher where due

Consider interdependence of natural, social and
technological systems

Give objectivity a major role

Guard against misinterpretation and misuse of data
Good Practices Checklist

Planning is very important in experimentation

Statistician can assist in planning

Planning does not ensure success but avoids
built-in disasters

Statistics cannot compensate for negative
impacts of persisting in a faulty line of
research
Good Planning Can Prevent:

Costly waste of resources

Difficult statistical analysis

Data for which interpretation is controversial

An experiment which is precise but which
answers the wrong questions
Setting Up Original Hypothesis Objectively
2 Rules:
1.
Hypothesis should be clearly
related to original problem
2.
The hypothesis should be stated
as simply as possible
IV. Discipline Specific Ethical Issues
Flexibility needed: Ethics vary Among
Different Application Areas
Business Application:
Withholding Negative Results
Problem Formulation Important – Involve Statistician
Design Considerations:
Costs, Definition of Population,
Sampling Frame
Statistician provides report but does not make
decisions for management
Company should have same responsibilities to
a salaried statistician as to a consulting one
(and conversely).
See: Deming, W.W., Sample Designs in
Business Research. Wiley NY 1960.
Medical Application

Medical review boards

Informed consent

Methods of selecting subjects

Withholding a treatment to a control group

Access to data

Confidentiality of identity of subjects
V. Ethical Issues in Interpretation and
Reporting









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Insufficient statistical methods description
Statistical significance vs. practical significance
Access to data
Kinds of means in the factorial experiment
reporting
Reporting of measures of dispersion
Proper decimal reporting
Bonafide scientific conclusions vs. speculation
Clarity of reporting
Indication that results are not final word
Enumeration of new study questions
VI. Case Studies

Skagerrak Case – Precautionary Principle
2 Highly respected scientists interpret their results
differently
Case emphasized 2 critical aspects of research
1.
2.
The actual statistical analysis
How and when to disseminate the information from
research

Elton’s Withholding of Anomalous Data

US Census: Use of sample survey methods to adjust
census counts
References Cited and Some Reading Material on Ethical Use of Statistics:
Bailan, John C 1997 Science, Statistics and Deception” in Research Ethics: A
Reader, (Deni Elliott and Judy E. Stein, eds. University Press of New England,
Honover).
Buhl-Mortensen and Stellan Welin 1998 The Ethics of Doing Policy Relevant Science:
The Precautionary Principle and the Significance of Non-Significant Results,
Science and Engineering Ethics, Opragen Publications, Surrey.
Deming, W.E. 1960 Sample Designs in Business Research, John Wiley and Sons,
New York.
Cooper, B. Holmes 1990 The Honest Truth About Lying with Statistics, Charles C.
Thomas, Springfield.
Huff, Darrel 1954 How to Lie with Statistics, W.W. Norton & Co. New York.
Leavitt, Fred 2001 Evaluating Scientific Research: Separating Fact from Fiction,
Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River.
Moore, David S. 2006 Data Ethics, An Introduction, From the
Supplemental Material for David S. Moore and George P. McCabe:
Introduction to the Practice of Statistics, 5th Ed. W.H. Freeman.
Pittinger, David, Hypothesis Testing as a Moral Choice, in Ethics and
Behavior (II (2), 2001).
Whitbeck, Caroline 1998 Responsibility of research Integrity, Chapter 6 in
Ethics in Engineering Practice and Research. Cambridge University
Press, Cambridge.
Professional Codes of Ethics for Statistics: Web Sites
American Statistical Association:
http://www.amstat.org/profession/index.cfm?fuseaction=ethicalstatistics
International Statistical Institute: http://isi.cbs.nl/ethics.htm