ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces principles of professional ethics for data analytics and gives examples of legal obligations as well as guidelines issued by professional societies. Work in data analytics involves expert knowledge, understanding, and skill. Professional ethics dictate that professional standards be applied in work. The chapter outlines basic principles of professional ethics. Usefully, several organizations have developed detailed statements on topics such as professionalism, integrity of data and methods, responsibilities to stakeholders, conflicts of interest, and the response to allegations of misconduct. One good source is the framework for professional ethics endorsed by the American Statistical Association. The American Statistical Association's ethical guidelines state, "Selecting the one 'significant' result from a multiplicity of parallel tests poses a grave risk of an incorrect conclusion. Failure to disclose the full extent of tests and their results in such a case would be highly misleading.".
