Recognizing 'Trust' and 'Understanding' as Twin Pillars of Statistical Ethics

• Activity Number: 295
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Tuesday, August 5, 2014 : 8:30 AM to 10:20 AM
• Sponsor: Health Policy Statistics Section
• Author(s): Thomas Belin*+
• Companies: University of California, Los Angeles
• Keywords: professional ethics ; scientific integrity ; public policy ; guidelines ; professional identity development

Abstract

There is a broadly shared sense among statisticians that a strong ethical foundation is crucially important to the advancement of science and enlightened public policy, but it has proven challenging to summarize statistical ethics in a way that is easily accessible. In 1999, the Board of Directors of the American Statistical Association approved a statement of "Ethical Guidelines for Statistical Practice", but the document's length (translating into 12 pages when copied into a word-processing program) has limited the impact of the statement. Drawing on modern philosophical and scientific discourse on ethical foundations of human interactions and on reflections by leading statisticians on essential principles underlying our work, this presentation seeks to underscore the central role of "trust" and "understanding" as pillars of statistical ethics. The presentation will propose embedding the existing ethical guidelines (or a suitable update) within a broader framework highlighting "trust" and "understanding" in the interest of promoting greater professional identity development around statistical ethics.