162 – Using and Teaching the ASA Revised Ethical Guidelines for the Practice of Statistics
Why and How the ASA Ethical Guidelines Should Be Integrated into Every Quantitative Course
Rochelle E. Tractenberg, PhD, MPH, PhD, PStat®, FASA
Georgetown University Medical Center
Interest in the revised ASA Ethical Guidelines for Statistical Practice is keen across the ASA membership and leadership, but as of the 2013-14 academic year, only 35% of US universities required any ethics content for *at least some* of their students in statistics and biostatistics programs. Since data analysis is becoming important across disciplines, the Guidelines can serve to introduce all students to critical concepts of responsible data analysis, interpretation, and reporting. The Guideline principles interact, and sometimes must be prioritized. Therefore, neither the simple distribution of -nor an encouragement to memorize- the Guidelines can promote the necessary level of awareness. The Guidelines contain elements that are suitable, and important, components of training for undergraduates and graduates whether or not they are statistics majors, to prepare them for ethical quantitative work. To achieve this preparation, and to support responsibility in the conduct of research involving data and its analysis, the Guidelines should be incorporated into every quantitative course. This paper discusses why and how this can be accomplished.