Preview

Ethics in statistics

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
439 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Ethics in statistics
Like any other field, there are ethics in statistics that need to be followed by a researcher so that only the truth is reported and there is no misrepresentation of the data.
Конец формы
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.
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.
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.
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.
For example, a car might be ranked high on comfort but low on safety. By showing only the comfort figures

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Is3350 Unit 1 Assignment

    • 2294 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Ethical consideration must be high on the agenda in public health since epidemiological findings are socially relevant, often publically funded and the research is conducted on human subjects. As discussed previously, there are two broad types of studies in epidemiology; the observational studies which include the cross-sectional, case-control and cohort studies and the experimental study or randomized clinical trial. As a policy writer and programme designer, I am obligated to ensure that investigators and researchers obtain informed consent from their subjects, where possible, and that there is privacy and…

    • 2294 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Has the primary researcher committed an ethical violation? Use the appropriate section of the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists to justify your response.…

    • 510 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Chapter 12 Supplement

    • 456 Words
    • 2 Pages

    One of the most important things a buyer must do before making a purchase is to review any and all of the statistical research on a product. According to Bluman (2005), Statistical research is used to provide knowledge and information in order to enable us to make intelligent decisions about our health and welfare” (p.680). Although this information is very important to us, we must also be skeptical of the results. There are many types when the results cannot be reliable. According to Bluman (2005), “statistics can be misrepresented in the following ways: Suspect Samples, Ambiguous Averages, Detached Statistics, Implied Connections, Misleading Graphs, Faulty Survey Questions, Asking Biased Questions, Using Confusing Words, Asking Doubled-Barreled Questions, and Using Double Negatives” (p.680-685). The following are example of misuses of statistics.…

    • 456 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Unethical business research and unethical business practice unfortunately seems to occur more often than it should and it could be found in various types of organization around the world. Organizations must make sure to keep the greatest degree of ethical behavior and in every aspect of their business. Moral principles are also crucial to consider and important when implementing business research. Majority of the times, rules and regulations are set in place to avoid unethical practices in organizations. Somehow, for whatever reason, unethical research is conducted and ethical behavior is simply ignored by many organizations.…

    • 799 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Unit 4 Individual Project

    • 623 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In Misrepresentation, Bribery, Covert Surveillance, and Theft there is use of unethical behavior. “SCIP Code of Ethics for CI Professionals states:…

    • 623 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    It is through research that new developments are made and may lead to better insight in things that others have already shed light and gathered information on. It is not uncommon for some researcher to teeter between what is ethical and what is considered to be unethical.…

    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Use and Misuse of Stats

    • 1436 Words
    • 6 Pages

    You’re right to be cautious. “The actual statistical calculations represent only 5% of the manager’s work,” says…

    • 1436 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    3.) In your opinion, how should the data be used that is obtained from an unethical experiment and how can we prevent this from happening again?…

    • 840 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to the American Psychological Association (2010), in order to follow the code of ethics psychologists must take into account not only the purpose of the test, but other test factors, abilities, cultural differences, etc. that…

    • 324 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    You could argue that Humphrey’s study of the tearoom trade violated ethical standards of sociological study because Humphrey’s way of studying the people who were participating in visiting “tearooms” for scandalous sex was to use participant observation which is a type of field research in which the researcher poses as a person who is normally in the environment. After he used participant observation he posed as a health survey researcher and visited many of the men in their home. Knowing this information, you can say that Humphrey’s study violated ethical issues because researchers have said that if you deceive people completely and tell no one that you are doing a study, you can not exactly protect the people you are studying, or protect their dignities and worth. On the other hand, researchers have also said that if you tell your whole study to people, you can’t be sure that they will not act differently because they know they are being studied.…

    • 260 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In biological science the word “ethics” stops unacceptable behavior. Ethics simply means the difference between acceptable and intolerable behavior that is frowned upon. I feel that ethics should cover each individual area of a study. For example an unethical behavior is the Tuskegee Study that took place in the early 1930s. The study was to gather African American men that had syphilis and men that were healthy and treat them for “bad blood”. The men performing the study were misleading the African American men, they did not inform them of all the facts. Instead of treating the men there was no evidence found that these men were every treated. This study goes against ethical behavior. That is why the Institutional Review Board (IRB) was created…

    • 154 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    social theory

    • 551 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Research studies are supposed to guarantee be anonymity or at least confidentiality. Although this is what studies guarantee there is no law that protects it. When researchers don’t keep their word it leads participants feeling deceived and lied to.…

    • 551 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Evidence Based Practice

    • 2577 Words
    • 11 Pages

    Ethics are a major difficulty that researchers have now got to face, it’s important that before any research takes place, all the ethical issues are considered and resolved. If the Ethics cannot be resolved, then the research should not take place. Ethics are regarded as ‘Moral philosophy, ethics search for a reasonable ground to our moral standards and what you think is right and wrong’ (Wiki answers, 2008).…

    • 2577 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Internal Validity

    • 271 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Regardless of the business an evaluation process is necessary. Even when it seems everything is falling into place there still are threats that question the validity of the information collected. One of the most common types of internal threats that an evaluation process may encounter is selection bias. This would occur when more of one type of person gets into a study or evaluation. Monitoring that there is an equal mix of participants will ensure that bias is less likely to occur.…

    • 271 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    There are many unethical problems that scientist face that are not deemed illegal but are part of their everyday research and they are not punished for because it is not a part of the FFP. Which is the falsification, fabrication, and/or plagiarism of data in research. (1) These are the issues that will get a scientist fired and/or discredited. These are the things that the gaze of the public’s eye falls upon and where mistrust in science comes from. Although these things may be written as regulations for scientists to follow, they must also follow a set of unwritten rules and ethics within research. Some of these include:…

    • 1913 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays