Conference abstracts
1. Proposal to Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM), Section on Statistical Consulting of the American Statistical Association, Salt Lake City, Utah, July 29-August 2, 2007.Title: "Land Grant University Ethics (LANGURE): The Ethical Use of Statistics in Research"
Session Organizer and Chair: Marcia Gumpertz, North Carolina State University
The LANGURE (Land Grant University Research Ethics) Project's goal is to develop training modules on research ethics that can be easily incorporated into graduate education at land grant universities. Modules have been developed on a wide range of topics from animal use in research to ethical issues surrounding intellectual property. These modules are freely available online (www.chass.ncsu.edu/langure/) to researchers, faculty, and students for use in courses and seminars at their own institutions.
We report on the LANGURE module on Responsible Use of Statistical Methods. Ethical issues arise in the design of experiments, determination of sample size, the randomization plan, and assignment of potentially harmful treatments. In the data analysis phase misuse of statistical methods, whether willful or through ignorance and negligence, has large potential to distort research results. Finally, the reporting of the statistical methods and results may be the cause of the majority of questions about statistics and ethics (and the solution). Deception, incomplete or biased reporting is undoubtedly the root of the sentiment that there are "three types of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics".
Speakers and tentative titles:
1. Larry Nelson, NCSU: "A Training Module on the Ethical Use of Statistics in Research"
2. Michael Crotty, NCSU: "A Student's Perspective on Training in Ethics and Statistics"
3. George McCabe, Purdue University: "Ethical Issues for Statistical Consultants"
4: David Resnick, NIEHS: "Is Misuse of Statistics an Ethical Issue, and How Big a Problem is It?"
Discussant: John Gardenier (NIEHS)
2. Description of "Teaching Research Ethics," a seminar at U. Hawaii, Jan. 11, 2008, noon.
This seminar addresses the question: How should graduate educators teach research ethics? It features comments by the speaker, Gary Comstock, Editor-in-Chief of the OpenSeminar in Research Ethics, and ample time for discussion with the audience.
The OpenSeminar is an exciting new online interactive collaborative course designed to welcome graduate students into the community of research scholars. Professors can modify the course to suit their own needs in face-to-face instructional settings, and unaffiliated students can use it as an asynchronous, self-directed program of study. The class is free.
The OpenSeminar supports and empowers junior researchers as they become acculturated into scholarly institutions. Readings introduce the rewards of and obstacles to research; the causes and consequences of misconduct; the rights and obligations of professionals; the habits of excellent mentors; and the social mission of the university. We describe a three-step method for making moral decisions: my interests; our interests; all interests.
Please join us as we discuss this cutting-edge initiative in graduate education.