A user's guide to a short course on professional ethics and the work of a national statistical office

Abstract

1. Background There is growing recognition of the important role that ethics can play in many aspects of the work of a National Statistical Office (NSO). This implies that the leadership and staff of NSOs should be aware of the common ethical concerns that arise in the course of their work and the ethical guidance provided by applicable national, regional, and international norms. (Although the term NSO is used here, in countries where the national statistical system is less centralized, the term “statistical agency” can be substituted without altering the meaning of what is being said.) In response to this interest the International Statistical Institute (ISI) organized a short course on Professional Ethics at the 57th session of the International Statistical Institute, held in Durban, South Africa, 16-22 August 2009. The course was divided into three sections: Part I of the course dealt with general issues, part II with professional ethics and the work of a national statistical office, and part III with research ethics in biomedical applications, presented by Ron Wasserstein, William Seltzer, and Norbert Victor, respectively. Subsequently, the author revised and expanded part II of the course to be a stand-alone course. The revised course, “Professional Ethics and the Work of a National Statistical Office,” is available as a 70-slide PowerPoint presentation at https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/margo/www/govstat/integrity.htm. It may be copied and used for any non-commercial purpose. The primary purpose of this user’s guide is to serve as an aid for those thinking about presenting the course to a group of participants. With this in mind, the guide describes the course and offers some suggestions on its presentation, with a view to encouraging relevant training in ethics for persons involved in the work of national statistical offices (NSOs). Alternatively, the PowerPoint presentation can be used as the basis of a self-study course and this guide will then serve as a student’s guide. However, there are distinct advantages in taking part in this course as part of a group exercise. The group discussion of the issues raised, whether on ethical priorities and trade-offs or on the sometimes