Research Ethics and Statistics

At first glance it may seem that statistics and research ethics have nothing to do with each other. Not so! Consider why so many people volunteer for medical research studies. In many cases it is because there is an expected benefit. For example, in cancer clinical trials, often the investigational drug is a last hope and may not be available outside of the trial. In many cardiovascular disease studies, participants appreciate the additional care and attention and are willing to try a new drug, for example, for hypertension. And in fact, it has been shown that often, clinical trial participants live longer and do better than the general population even if they are treated with a placebo. But what is perhaps not sufficiently appreciated is that many, many people participate in studies out of altruism to advance scientific knowledge. Scientific knowledge is not advanced when a study is poorly designed, or carried out without sufficient rigor, or not large enough to give an answer. Proper statistics are a determinant of the ethics of a study.