1. Home
  2. Statistics i - math1020 - red
  3. Sampling and data
  4. Ethics -- rrc math 1020

1.4 Ethics -- rrc math 1020  (Page 3/17)

<< Chapter < Page
  Statistics i - math1020 - red     Page 3 / 17
Chapter >> Page >

Try it

Describe the unethical behavior, if any, in each example and describe how it could impact the reliability of the resulting data. Explain how the problem should be corrected.

A study is commissioned to determine the favorite brand of fruit juice among teens in California.

  1. The survey is commissioned by the seller of a popular brand of apple juice.
  2. There are only two types of juice included in the study: apple juice and cranberry juice.
  3. Researchers allow participants to see the brand of juice as samples are poured for a taste test.
  4. Twenty-five percent of participants prefer Brand X, 33% prefer Brand Y and 42% have no preference between the two brands. Brand X references the study in a commercial saying “Most teens like Brand X as much as or more than Brand Y.”
  1. This is not necessarily a problem. The study should be monitored carefully, however, to ensure that the company is not pressuring researchers to return biased results.
  2. If the researchers truly want to determine the favorite brand of juice, then researchers should ask teens to compare different brands of the same type of juice. Choosing a sweet juice to compare against a sharp-flavored juice will not lead to an accurate comparison of brand quality.
  3. Participants could be biased by the knowledge. The results may be different from those obtained in a blind taste test.
  4. The commercial tells the truth, but not the whole truth. It leads consumers to believe that Brand X was preferred by more participants than Brand Y while the opposite is true.

Make your own list of of misuse and misrepresentation of statistical information you have recently encountered.

Look into the areas of politics, the economy, education, sports, and even in the arts.

References

Stan Reents. “Don’t Underestimate the Power of Suggestion,” athleteinme.com, http://www.athleteinme.com/ArticleView.aspx?id=1053 (accessed May 1, 2013).

The Data and Story Library, http://lib.stat.cmu.edu/DASL/Stories/ScentsandLearning.html (accessed May 1, 2013).

M.L. Jacskon et al., “Cognitive Components of Simulated Driving Performance: Sleep Loss effect and Predictors,” Accident Analysis and Prevention Journal, Jan no. 50 (2013), http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22721550 (accessed May 1, 2013).

“Earthquake Information by Year,” U.S. Geological Survey. http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqarchives/year/ (accessed May 1, 2013).

“Fatality Analysis Report Systems (FARS) Encyclopedia,” National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration. http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/Main/index.aspx (accessed May 1, 2013).

Data from www.businessweek.com (accessed May 1, 2013).

Data from www.forbes.com (accessed May 1, 2013).

“America’s Best Small Companies,” http://www.forbes.com/best-small-companies/list/ (accessed May 1, 2013).

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Code of Federal Regulations Title 45 Public Welfare Department of Health and Human Services Part 46 Protection of Human Subjects revised January 15, 2009. Section 46.111:Criteria for IRB Approval of Research.

“April 2013 Air Travel Consumer Report,” U.S. Department of Transportation, April 11 (2013), http://www.dot.gov/airconsumer/april-2013-air-travel-consumer-report (accessed May 1, 2013).

Lori Alden, “Statistics can be Misleading,” econoclass.com, http://www.econoclass.com/misleadingstats.html (accessed May 1, 2013).

Maria de los A. Medina, “Ethics in Statistics,” Based on “Building an Ethics Module for Business, Science, and Engineering Students” by Jose A. Cruz-Cruz and William Frey, Connexions, http://cnx.org/content/m15555/latest/ (accessed May 1, 2013).

Chapter review

A poorly designed study will not produce reliable data. There are certain key components that must be included in every experiment. To eliminate lurking variables, subjects must be assigned randomly to different treatment groups. One of the groups must act as a control group, demonstrating what happens when the active treatment is not applied. Participants in the control group receive a placebo treatment that looks exactly like the active treatments but cannot influence the response variable. To preserve the integrity of the placebo, both researchers and subjects may be blinded. When a study is designed properly, the only difference between treatment groups is the one imposed by the researcher. Therefore, when groups respond differently to different treatments, the difference must be due to the influence of the explanatory variable.

“An ethics problem arises when you are considering an action that benefits you or some cause you support, hurts or reduces benefits to others, and violates some rule.” Andrew Gelman, “Open Data and Open Methods,” Ethics and Statistics, http://www.stat.columbia.edu/~gelman/research/published/ChanceEthics1.pdf (accessed May 1, 2013). Ethical violations in statistics are not always easy to spot. Professional associations and federal agencies post guidelines for proper conduct. It is important that you learn basic statistical procedures so that you can recognize proper data analysis.

Discuss potential violations of the rule requiring informed consent.

  1. Inmates in a correctional facility are offered good behavior credit in return for participation in a study.
  2. A research study is designed to investigate a new children’s allergy medication.
  3. Participants in a study are told that the new medication being tested is highly promising, but they are not told that only a small portion of participants will receive the new medication. Others will receive placebo treatments and traditional treatments.
  1. Inmates may not feel comfortable refusing participation, or may feel obligated to take advantage of the promised benefits. They may not feel truly free to refuse participation.
  2. Parents can provide consent on behalf of their children, but children are not competent to provide consent for themselves.
  3. All risks and benefits must be clearly outlined. Study participants must be informed of relevant aspects of the study in order to give appropriate consent.

Questions & Answers

what is microbiology
Agebe Reply
What is a cell
Odelana Reply
what is cell
Mohammed
how does Neisseria cause meningitis
Nyibol Reply
what is microbiologist
Muhammad Reply
what is errata
Muhammad
is the branch of biology that deals with the study of microorganisms.
Ntefuni Reply
What is microbiology
Mercy Reply
studies of microbes
Louisiaste
when we takee the specimen which lumbar,spin,
Ziyad Reply
How bacteria create energy to survive?
Muhamad Reply
Bacteria doesn't produce energy they are dependent upon their substrate in case of lack of nutrients they are able to make spores which helps them to sustain in harsh environments
_Adnan
But not all bacteria make spores, l mean Eukaryotic cells have Mitochondria which acts as powerhouse for them, since bacteria don't have it, what is the substitution for it?
Muhamad
they make spores
Louisiaste
what is sporadic nd endemic, epidemic
Aminu Reply
the significance of food webs for disease transmission
Abreham
food webs brings about an infection as an individual depends on number of diseased foods or carriers dully.
Mark
explain assimilatory nitrate reduction
Esinniobiwa Reply
Assimilatory nitrate reduction is a process that occurs in some microorganisms, such as bacteria and archaea, in which nitrate (NO3-) is reduced to nitrite (NO2-), and then further reduced to ammonia (NH3).
Elkana
This process is called assimilatory nitrate reduction because the nitrogen that is produced is incorporated in the cells of microorganisms where it can be used in the synthesis of amino acids and other nitrogen products
Elkana
Examples of thermophilic organisms
Shu Reply
Give Examples of thermophilic organisms
Shu
advantages of normal Flora to the host
Micheal Reply
Prevent foreign microbes to the host
Abubakar
they provide healthier benefits to their hosts
ayesha
They are friends to host only when Host immune system is strong and become enemies when the host immune system is weakened . very bad relationship!
Mark
what is cell
faisal Reply
cell is the smallest unit of life
Fauziya
cell is the smallest unit of life
Akanni
ok
Innocent
cell is the structural and functional unit of life
Hasan
is the fundamental units of Life
Musa
what are emergency diseases
Micheal Reply
There are nothing like emergency disease but there are some common medical emergency which can occur simultaneously like Bleeding,heart attack,Breathing difficulties,severe pain heart stock.Hope you will get my point .Have a nice day ❣️
_Adnan
define infection ,prevention and control
Innocent
I think infection prevention and control is the avoidance of all things we do that gives out break of infections and promotion of health practices that promote life
Lubega
Heyy Lubega hussein where are u from?
_Adnan
en français
Adama
which site have a normal flora
ESTHER Reply
Many sites of the body have it Skin Nasal cavity Oral cavity Gastro intestinal tract
Safaa
skin
Asiina
skin,Oral,Nasal,GIt
Sadik
How can Commensal can Bacteria change into pathogen?
Sadik
How can Commensal Bacteria change into pathogen?
Sadik
all
Tesfaye
by fussion
Asiina
what are the advantages of normal Flora to the host
Micheal
what are the ways of control and prevention of nosocomial infection in the hospital
Micheal
Got questions? Join the online conversation and get instant answers!
Jobilize.com Reply
<< Chapter < Page Page > Chapter >>
Practice FlashCards 2 Key Terms 12

Read also:

Get Jobilize Job Search Mobile App in your pocket Now!

Get it on Google Play Download on the App Store Now




Source:  OpenStax, Statistics i - math1020 - red river college - version 2015 revision a - draft 2015-10-24. OpenStax CNX. Oct 24, 2015 Download for free at http://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11891/1.8
Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google Inc.

Notification Switch

Would you like to follow the 'Statistics i - math1020 - red river college - version 2015 revision a - draft 2015-10-24' conversation and receive update notifications?

Ask