The General Impressions item:

General Impressions of the New Guidelines

Pro

Date: Thu, 14 May 1998 16:51:43 -0400
From: "David B. Resnik"

Wow! An impressive code. I think I've seen earlier versions which are
much less extensive. I wish all the sciences had a code of ethics as
comprehensive as this one.

Until May 29, 1998
Associate Professor of Philosophy and Director, The Center for the
Advancement of Ethics,
University of Wyoming
After May 29, 1998
Associate Professor, Department of Medical Humanities
East Carolina University School of Medicine
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Con

Date: Thu, 14 May 1998 15:20:15 -0400
From: "Moriarity, Christopher L. (E)"

(Earlier, Chris, a colleague at the National Center for Health
Statistics, had suggested that the 1989 guidelines were preferable to
the new set, in part because they were a quicker and easier "read." I
had replied that the earlier guidelines are a quick and easy read in
part because:
"1. They do not cover the full set of ASA ethics policies;
2. They were written for a simpler era, when there were fewer issues to
address;
3. They were addressed only to statisticians, mainly ASA members; and
4. They were not explicit; a large range of ethically suspect behavior
could be condoned within that language and in fact has been.

Still, you are right that clarity and brevity are virtues. If you have
any explicit suggestions about how to reduce size without significant
loss of content, the Committee would be grateful.)"
His reply:

Perhaps Section I.B could be made shorter (3 paragraphs to 1 paragraph)
by being less specific. Suggestion for many of the following sections:
I'm not convinced that it's necessary to explicitly list all of the
items listed in the draft; e.g., Section I.C, items 4 and 5, Section
II.B, items 8 and 9. I encourage a focus in the document on statistical
ethics, as opposed to ethics in general.

Mixed

Date: Sat, 11 Jul 1998 11:10:44 -0700 (PDT)
From: Lloyd FISHER
To: drgarden@erols.com
cc: Paula Diehr

[Note: this is the essential point of a much longer e-mail from Lloyd
Fisher. See the post under his name for the full text and rationale.]

Dear ASA Committee on Professional Ethics:

I have read with interest your draft ethical guidelines for statistical
practice. While agreeing overall with the guidelines I feel that the
blurring of ethical obligations and "good professional citizenship" is
an important issue. One could envision the ASA asking and/or forcing a
member to leave the society for unethical behavior. I feel that there
is a need for much better separation of ethics and desirable
professional conduct.

Lloyd Fisher, University of Washington