97 Things About Ethics Everyone in Data Science Should Know

Chapter 85. Ethics Rules in Applied Econometrics and Data Science

Steven C. Myers

Associate Processor of Economics, University of Akron

I have taught ethics in applied econometrics and data analysis for more than 20 years. But I rarely have used the word “ethics,” resorting to phrases such as “data skepticism” and other attitudes that suggest acting ethically.

Nothing in the past 20 years has had as much impact on me, my classroom teaching, and my ethics of data analysis as Peter Kennedy’s “Sinning in the Basement: What Are the Rules? The Ten Commandments of Applied Econometrics.”¹ This essay also appears in his Guide to Econometrics (Blackwell).²

From the moment I read this paper, I was completely transformed and forever a disciple of Kennedy. I was fortunate to host him on my campus, where he spoke of the misuse of econometrics and the failure of research to make it past his editor’s desk at the Journal of Economic Education. In one example, a paper was rejected because the author(s) did not acknowledge a problem in their analysis, ignored it, and probably hoped the editor would not notice. Being honest and transparent enough to acknowledge a problem of which the authors were aware but which they were unable to solve is sometimes enough, Peter would point out. Hiding one transgression suggests other ethical abuses of data.

I used the word “ethical,” but Kennedy did not, preferring ...