Alignment of US guidance for official statistics with 

ASA Ethical Guidelines for Statistical Practice 

Jennifer Park, National Academies

*Rochelle E. Tractenberg, Georgetown University

rochelle.tractenberg@gmail.com
Data

Park & Tractenberg (2023) systematically 

examined:

1. ASA Ethical Guidelines for Statistical 

Practice (EG; ASA 2022) 2. Statistical Policy Directives (SPD)* 

SPD1

SPD2

SPD2a 

3. Principles and Practices (PNP; NASEM 

2021)

4. Data Ethics Tenets (DET; OMB 2020)

* SPD 3 and 4 also were also examined; due to their focused scope on 

particular statistical indicators, we excluded them from our primary 

analysis.

2
ASA Ethical Guidelines (ASA, 2022)

3
Method:

Systematic content analysis of 

professional ethical practice 

standard (ASA, 2022) with key 

Federal guidance documents

Identified patterns of alignment, 

tension, and gaps

● Degrees of Freedom Analysis

a. Adapted by Tractenberg (2019; 2023) 

for decision making 

b. Content analysis to capture alignment 

(and potential for confusion/conflict) 

across narrative material

● Single coding scheme applied to each 

two-dimensional table

4
Summary coding for analysis across two dimensions

1. Analyzed alignment of 

each ASA Guideline

Principle –not 

Appendix - with 

another guidance 

2. Result at intersection 

coded in detail 

(Appendix) and 

summary form (main 

paper)

5
Coding Schema 1: Alignment

Definition Example Key

Alignment: 

Literal or 

conceptual 

match

ASA EG D4: “(the ethical statistical practitioner) Protects people's privacy and the confidentiality 

of data concerning them, whether obtained from the individuals directly, other persons, or 

existing records. Knows and adheres to applicable rules, consents, and guidelines to protect 

private information” matches 

OMB SPD 1 Responsibility 4, “Protect the trust of information providers by ensuring the 

confidentiality and exclusive statistical use of their responses.” 

D4

Or

✓

Similar 

match

ASA EG D: “Research Subjects/Data Subjects and Those Affected by Statistical Practices” and 

OMB SPD 2, Survey Planning Standard 1.1: Develop a written plan.

(D) or

(✓)

Pattern of 

alignment 

Patterns of complete alignment across that row (or column) – green shading of row/column ✓

6
Coding Schema 2: Potential Conflict and Tension

Definition Example Key

Opposition: 

Potential 

conflict

ASA EG D10, “(the ethical statistical practitioner) Understands the provenance of the data, 

including origins, revisions, and any restrictions on usage, and fitness for use prior to conducting 

statistical practices” and NASEM PNP Principle 1, “Federal statistical agencies must provide 

objective, accurate, and timely information that is relevant to important public policy issues.”: 

These may conflict if data are unfit for purpose, or permissions have not been obtained, but are 

deemed to be “relevant” for a policy issue.

~D10 

or

~

Tension: 

Coexisting 

alignment 

and conflict 

OMB SPD 1 Responsibility 1, “Produce and disseminate relevant and timely information”, is wellaligned with ASA EG A2. “Uses methodology and data that are valid, relevant, and appropriate, 

without favoritism or prejudice, and in a manner intended to produce valid, interpretable, and 

reproducible results,” but could potentially cause conflict with achievement of ASA EG A3 “Does 

not knowingly conduct statistical practices that exploit vulnerable populations or create or 

perpetuate unfair outcomes.” 

A2, 

~A3

Or

✓, ~

7
Coding Schema 3: Unmatches and Guidance Gaps

Definition Example Key

Unmatched: 

Neither 

alignment (or 

nonalignment)

For example, ASA EG Principle F, responsibilities relating to other statistical practitioners and 

the profession offers no support or guidance for how to accomplish NASEM PNP Practice 9, 

“Dissemination of Statistical Products That Meet Users’ Needs.”

[blank]

Guidance gap Patterns of unmatched content are identified across that row (or column) [grey]

8
9

Results: Example of full table (detail – in Appendix): ASA x Data Ethics Tenets (no red)
10

Results: Summarized table (in body of paper): ASA x Data Ethics Tenets

Data Ethics 

Tenets are 

strongly and 

clearly aligned 

with ASA 

Ethical 

Guidelines for 

Statistical 

Practice
11

Results: Summarized Table: 

ASA x SPD 1-2-2A

SPD 1-2-2A are 

strongly aligned 

with ASA 

Ethical 

Guidelines for 

Statistical 

Practice –

especially 

Principles A, B, 

D – BUT there 

are some 

tensions 

identified.
12

Results: 

Summarized Table: 

ASA x NASEM P&P

NASEM P&P 

are aligned with 

ASA Ethical 

Guidelines for 

Statistical 

Practice –

especially 

Principles 2-3-4 

and Practices 2-3 – BUT there 

are some 

tensions 

identified
Results : 

SPD 1, 2 and 2A and DET

All DET align with SPD 1 Responsibilities 

2 and 4 (credibility and trust) and SPD 

2.1.4 (instrument function); 2.3.4 (disclosure avoidance). See also 2.7.2 (protection), and 2A.5 (transparency).

Areas of Mixed Alignment: SPD 1 (relevance) could conflict with all DET

13
Results Summary: 

DET and PNP

Areas of tension: Principle 1 

(relevance) Practice 7 

(collaboration), and Practice 9 

(dissemination of products) must 

be accomplished in balance with 

DET 

14
Results Summary: 

SPD 1, 2, 2A and PNP

Areas of Mixed Alignment: NASEM 

Practice 7 (collaboration) may cause 

tension or conflict with all elements of 

SPD 1, 2, 2a

Gap: NASEM Practice 4 (staff) with all 

SPD 1,2,2A. (should all be grey!)

15
Conclusions

Where guidelines align, 

professional norms are more easily 

established in policy

Where tensions and gaps are 

explicit, federal guidelines can be 

clarified and strengthened

Guidance is routinely reviewed and occasionally 

revised to address emerging needs

– examples may be effective to clarify how to 

prioritize – which guidance should be followed 

in case of ‘conflict’ or confusion?

– amplify language regarding data providers, 

users’ needs, and staff training 

Guidance in these areas should be clarified before 

elevating to broader authority. 

16