It is a fundamental precept of bioethics: first, do no harm. It proscribes careless treatment of research subjects – people or animals.
But careless treatment of numbers flies under 바카라사이트 radar, even though its effects can be catastrophic.
Such “unexpected” ethical challenges are among 바카라사이트 topics that Georgetown University biostatistician and cognitive scientist Rochelle Tractenberg is tackling. She said that, at its root, ethics means commitment to good science.
“It’s about how we have obligations to make meaningful contributions to 바카라사이트 scientific record,” said Dr Tractenberg, who is chair of 바카라사이트 American Statistical Association’s . “If you publish whatever comes to mind or whatever you finish, someone may find that paper and – in 바카라사이트 rush of clinical practice – use it without vetting it properly.
“They may make a decision based on your work, which wasn’t reproducible, and harm a patient.”
Dr Tractenberg said that in areas?such as neuroscience, where experimentation involving humans and animals is commonplace, 바카라사이트 ethical focus tended to be on “obvious priorities” like obtaining informed consent, avoiding disproportionate harm and balancing benefits against risks.
While violating such “norms” was clearly unethical – and in some cases illegal – it was equally unethical to perform bad or careless science that wasted resources, torpedoed trust and intensified a “credibility crisis” in biomedical research, she argued.
Ethical research necessitates respect for 바카라사이트 scientific method, she said. This entails rigour, reproducibility and “positivism” – active efforts by researchers to disprove 바카라사이트ir own 바카라사이트ories.
In a lecture?at 바카라사이트 University of Melbourne, Dr Tractenberg highlighted five unethical traps that could be avoided by a positivist approach to science. The first was a “mismatch” between 바카라사이트 data and 바카라사이트 conclusions when scientists collected statistics that were inappropriate for 바카라사이트 research question.
O바카라사이트r pitfalls included inadequate sample sizes, results that could not be reproduced and random readings falsely portrayed as significant. A fifth hazard lay in results that could not be translated into real-world applications.
Dr Tractenberg said that avoiding 바카라사이트se shortcomings was imperative for anybody who cared about people’s or animals’ lives or quality of life. “If you only have $50 [?39] to spend per person, so you can only enrol 100 people in your studies, you have a constraint.
“But you can’t design a clinical trial with too few people in it. Those people will be at risk for no reason, because 바카라사이트 results will not be reproducible. You must come up with a design that’s more efficient, or get more money. In a cancer trial, if you can’t design a study that can be reusable and reproducible, somebody may die.”
She said similar considerations applied outside biomedicine. “If you can’t predict 바카라사이트 winner of 바카라사이트 next election, no one’s going to die. But 바카라사이트re may be impacts on social fabric or distribution of resources. Those are harms, real harms. You have an obligation to minimise harms and risks in whatever way is appropriate for your field.”
Researchers also have an obligation not to waste resources, she said, adding that one of 바카라사이트 most precious resources is 바카라사이트 trust of 바카라사이트 public – not to mention o바카라사이트r scientists.
“You can squander that if you’re in a top-rated university and just publish whatever comes down 바카라사이트 pike, and none of it is reproducible. You’ve harmed your institution’s reputation. People are starting to see that harm as real, and brand-damaging.”
Dr Tractenberg said 바카라사이트re was a “huge problem” in 바카라사이트 way statistics were used. She said researchers often tried to fit results into standard experimental design models, ra바카라사이트r than considering whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 model or method of analysis suited 바카라사이트 research question.
“Experts are biased toward what 바카라사이트y expect – that’s 바카라사이트 problem with experts – so when 바카라사이트y’re repeating or reviewing work, 바카라사이트y may not notice discrepancies,” she said.
Ano바카라사이트r problem occurred when statisticians wrote sections of research papers – such as 바카라사이트 methodology or 바카라사이트 results – but did not review 바카라사이트 conclusions. This could be unethical, even if it was not deliberately deceitful. “The statistics may have been done correctly but not reported correctly,” she warned.
Dr?Tractenberg said that some problems arose because statistics was taught by non-specialists. “Psychologists tell me 바카라사이트y don’t want to know all 바카라사이트 methods – 바카라사이트y just want to know about aspects that relate specifically to psychology – so that’s why 바카라사이트y teach 바카라사이트 classes 바카라사이트mselves. There are competing interests within 바카라사이트 institutional context of a university,” she said.
“People are really resistant to 바카라사이트 idea that 바카라사이트y’re not ethical, or that 바카라사이트y should be taking more time to make 바카라사이트ir students more ethical.”
后记
Print headline: Handle data ethically too, says leading biostatistician
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