Statistical Studies: Learn It 3

Ethics

The widespread misuse and misrepresentation of statistical information can give the field a bad name. Some say that “numbers don’t lie,” but the people who use numbers to support their claims often do.

An investigation of famous social psychologist Diederik Stapel led to the retraction of his articles from some of the world’s top journals, including Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Social Psychology, Basic and Applied Social Psychology, British Journal of Social Psychology, and the magazine Science. Stapel is a former professor at Tilburg University in the Netherlands. An extensive two-year investigation involving three universities where Stapel worked concluded that the psychologist is guilty of fraud on a colossal scale. Falsified data taints over 55 papers he authored and Ph.D. dissertations that he supervised.

Clearly, it is never acceptable to falsify data the way this researcher did. Sometimes, however, violations of ethics are not easy to detect.

Many types of statistical fraud are difficult to detect. Some researchers simply stop collecting data once they have just enough to prove what they had hoped to prove. They don’t want to take the chance that a more extensive study would produce data contradicting their hypothesis. Professional organizations like the American Statistical Association clearly define expectations for researchers. There are even federal laws in the United States about the use of research data.

Privacy concerns in data collection are paramount. You may be familiar with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule.[2] For individuals at least 18 years old, this rule prevents the individual’s medical information from being revealed to anyone who the individual has not identified as eligible to receive it. A similar law exists for college students at least 18 years old. There is a federal law called the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The U.S. Department of Education provides information about FERPA on their website,[3] which outlines the protection of the privacy of student records. How can private student information be protected when collecting and storing data in a study about phone use and grades?

When a statistical study uses human participants, as in medical studies, both ethics and the law dictate that researchers be mindful of the safety of their research subjects. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services oversees federal regulations of research studies with the aim of protecting participants. When a university or other institution engages in research, it must ensure the safety of all human subjects. For this reason, research institutions establish oversight committees known as Institutional Review Boards (IRB). All planned studies must be approved in advance by the IRB. Key protections that are mandated by law include the following:

  • Risks to participants must be minimized and reasonable with respect to projected benefits.
  • Participants must give informed consent. This means that the risks of participation must be clearly explained to the subjects of the study. Subjects must consent in writing, and researchers are required to keep documentation of their consent.
  • Data collected from individuals must be guarded carefully to protect their privacy.

It is important that students of statistics take time to consider the ethical questions that arise in statistical studies. How prevalent is fraud in statistical studies? You might be surprised—and disappointed. Vigilance against fraud requires knowledge. Learning the basic theory of statistics will empower you to analyze statistical studies critically.

  1. “Flawed Science: The Fraudulent Research Practices of Social Psychologist Diederik Stapel,” Tilburg University, November 28, 2012, http://www.tilburguniversity.edu/upload/064a10cd-bce5-4385-b9ff-05b840caeae6_120695_Rapp_nov_2012_UK_web.pdf (accessed May 1, 2013). ↵
  2. https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/privacy/special-topics/de-identification/index.html ↵
  3. https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa ↵