Ethics in Statistics
ASSIGNMENT: Ethics in Statistics
There are a number of possible ways in which unethical behavior can arise in statistics and researchers should steer clear of these. It is relatively simple to manipulate and hide data, projecting only what one desires and not what the numbers actually speak, thus giving birth to the famous phrase “Lies, damned lies and statistics”. However, this doesn’t happen all the time and there is no reason not to believe in the conclusions of a statistical analysis (Siddharth, 2010). Ethics in statistics is not straightforward and can be quite complex at times. It also greatly depends on what kind of statistical analysis is being done. Unethical behavior might arise at any point – from data collection to data interpretation. For example, data collection can be made inherently biased by posing the wrong questions that stimulate strong emotions rather than objective realities. This happens all the time when the survey is aimed to try and prove a viewpoint rather than find out the truth (Cruz, 2010). Other unethical behaviors might include scientists not including data outliers in their report and analysis to validate their theory or viewpoint. This happens both in pure and social sciences. By obscuring data or taking only the data points that reinforce a particular theory, scientists are indulging in unethical behavior (Morales, 2010). Ethics in statistics are very important during data representation as well. Numbers don’t lie but their interpretation and representation can be misleading. For example, after a broad survey of many customers, a company might decide to publish and make available only the numbers and figures that reflect well on the company and either totally neglect or not give due importance to other figures. Surveys and polls often indulge in unethical behavior to reinforce a viewpoint. For example, a survey might not reflect true public opinion because it is not statistically significant. However, many surveys do not
There are a number of possible ways in which unethical behavior can arise in statistics and researchers should steer clear of these. It is relatively simple to manipulate and hide data, projecting only what one desires and not what the numbers actually speak, thus giving birth to the famous phrase “Lies, damned lies and statistics”. However, this doesn’t happen all the time and there is no reason not to believe in the conclusions of a statistical analysis (Siddharth, 2010). Ethics in statistics is not straightforward and can be quite complex at times. It also greatly depends on what kind of statistical analysis is being done. Unethical behavior might arise at any point – from data collection to data interpretation. For example, data collection can be made inherently biased by posing the wrong questions that stimulate strong emotions rather than objective realities. This happens all the time when the survey is aimed to try and prove a viewpoint rather than find out the truth (Cruz, 2010). Other unethical behaviors might include scientists not including data outliers in their report and analysis to validate their theory or viewpoint. This happens both in pure and social sciences. By obscuring data or taking only the data points that reinforce a particular theory, scientists are indulging in unethical behavior (Morales, 2010). Ethics in statistics are very important during data representation as well. Numbers don’t lie but their interpretation and representation can be misleading. For example, after a broad survey of many customers, a company might decide to publish and make available only the numbers and figures that reflect well on the company and either totally neglect or not give due importance to other figures. Surveys and polls often indulge in unethical behavior to reinforce a viewpoint. For example, a survey might not reflect true public opinion because it is not statistically significant. However, many surveys do not
References: Benston, George J. (November 6, 2003). "The Quality of Corporate Financial Statements and Their Auditors before and after Enron". Policy Analysis (Washington D.C.: Cato Institute) (497): 12 Cruz Jose, Frey William, (2010). Building an Ethics Module for Business, Science, and Engineering Students. Healy, Paul M.; Palepu, Krishna G (Spring 2003). "The Fall of Enron". Journal of Economic Perspectives 17 (2): 3 Holmes, Charles (2008) "Business ethics – Part One: Does it matter?” Industrial and Commercial Training, 40 (5) pp.248 - 252 McLean, Bethany; Peter Elkind. (2003). The Smartest Guys in the Room. pp. 132–133 North, Gary (February 5, 2005). “Enron: The real story” Norton, Bob. “What happened at Enron”, Ubscure Article Directory "Enron 's Plan Would Repay A Fraction of Dollars Owed". The New York Times. (2003-07-12) http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/12/business/enron-s-plan-would-repay-a-fraction-of-dollars-owed.html. Siddharth Kalla, (2010). Ethics in Statistics. Experiment Resource Vogel, Carol (2003-04-16). "Enron 's Art to Be Auctioned Off". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/16/business/enron-s-art-to-be-auctioned-off.html