Ethical Guidelines for Statistical Practice: A Historical Perspective

Abstract

Gibbons (1973) and more recently Jowell (1981) have traced the inception of interest in the development of a professional code for statisticians to the period following World War II. Jowell commented that the International Statistical Institute (ISI) has survived for nearly 100 years without such a code. The American Statistical Association (ASA) has been in existence for over 150 years, also without an officially sanctioned professional code of principles (either ethical or technical). Since the historical perspective of the past 30 years may be useful to ASA members in developing their views on the suitability of the Ad Hoc Committee on Professional Ethics' (1982) trial Ethical Guidelines for Statistical Practice, we have reviewed the available literature on this issue and have tried to focus on past writings as they relate to the evolution of the current guidelines. Following this historical overview, the trial Ethical Guidelines for Statistical Practice, approved by the Board of Directors of the American Statistical Association, is printed in its entirety. Fourteen distinguished statisticians with a broad spectrum of professional interest have reviewed the guidelines, and their comments along with a response from the Ad Hoc Committee on Code of Conduct are also presented. It is hoped that this sequence of articles will provide the basis for a vigorous dialogue among members of the ASA.