Data science ethics

Lecture 14

Author
Affiliation

Dr. Mine Çetinkaya-Rundel

Duke University
STA 199 - Fall 2025

Published

October 16, 2025

Warm-up

While you wait: Participate 📱💻

Put the folllowing tasks in order to scrape data from a website:

  • Use the SelectorGadget identify tags for elements you want to grab
  • Use read_html() to read the page’s source code into R
  • Use other functions from the rvest package to parse the elements you’re interested in
  • Put the components together in a data frame (a tibble) and analyze it like you analyze any other data

Scan the QR code or go to app.wooclap.com/sta199. Log in with your Duke NetID.

Announcements

  • Milestone 2 (proposal) due tonight at 11:59 pm, you will not be able to push changes to your repo after this time!

  • Do not forget to fill out peer evaluations for your teammates on TEAMMATES!

  • Office hours change: For this Friday (10/17) only, my office hours will be on Zoom (bit.ly/minezoom) from 3:30-4:30 pm.

From last time

A new R workflow

  • When working in a Quarto document, your analysis is re-run each time you knit

  • If web scraping in a Quarto document, you’d be re-scraping the data each time you knit, which is undesirable (and not nice)!

  • An alternative workflow:

    • Use an R script to save your code
    • Saving interim data scraped using the code in the script as CSV or RDS files
    • Use the saved data in your analysis in your Quarto document

Scraping from many pages

Packages

library(tidyverse)
library(rvest) # for web scraping
library(knitr) # for pretty tables

Columns and words

What additional information do we need to produce the table below?

Column Avg. # words/article # articles
Campus Voices 942 382
Letters To The Editor 307 19
Opinion 1020 99

Start with the URL for an first article

chronicle <- read_csv("data/chronicle.csv")

article_url <- chronicle |>
  slice_head(n = 1) |>
  pull()

article_url
[1] "https://www2.stat.duke.edu/~cr173/data/dukechronicle-opinion/www.dukechronicle.com/article/the-united-states-is-a-frat-and-i-cant-unsee-it-20251007.html"

Read in the page

article_page <- read_html(article_url)

article_page
{html_document}
<html lang="en" style="scrollbar-gutter: stable;">
[1] <head>\n<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;char ...
[2] <body class="snw-antialiased">\n    <!-- Google Tag Manager (no ...

Identify the elements you want

.article-content

Parse the elements you want - 1

article_page |>
  html_elements(".article-content")
{xml_nodeset (1)}
[1] <article class="full-article arx-styles prose max-w-3xl lg:prose-lg text-gray-900 bs-shim article-content" id="article-content-d976e3a0-027c-447d-a162-bd10f5d921a3"><p spellcheck="false" aria-label="To enrich screen reader interactions, please activate Accessibility in Grammarly extension settings">Fraternities thrive on exclusivity. At Duke, that posture may be tolerable, even expected. But once you’ve seen how Greek life operates (gatekeeping at the door, bending rules for insiders, pun ...

Parse the elements you want - 2

article_page |>
  html_elements(".article-content") |>
  html_text2()
[1] "Fraternities thrive on exclusivity. At Duke, that posture may be tolerable, even expected. But once you’ve seen how Greek life operates (gatekeeping at the door, bending rules for insiders, punishing outsiders) it’s hard not to notice the same logic playing out on a national scale. The United States, too, runs like a frat: immigration represents the rush process, the Constitution and the insiders who decide when those rules apply and when they don’t.\n\nThe First Test: Do You Belong?\n\nImmigration is America’s bid night. Who gets past the door and who gets turned away, reveals who the frat thinks deserves to wear its letters. \n\nIn the late 1800s, the Chinese Exclusion Act was the ultimate “you don’t belong here.” It was the equivalent of a fraternity cutting pledges at the door, not because of merit, but because of appearance.\n\nHistorian Andrew Gyory argues in “Closing the Gate: Race, Politics, and the Chinese Exclusion Act,” that the 1882 Chinese Exclusion law wasn’t just about jobs or economics — it was about racial scapegoating weaponized in a crisis. In the recession of the 1870s, white workers blamed Chinese laborers for stealing jobs and depressing wages. Politicians ran with it, branding Chinese immigrants as “coolies” (a slur) who threatened white labor. This act suspended immigration, denied naturalization and subjected exempt merchants and students to humiliating interrogation. \n\nThe same script is running today. Just as Chinese laborers were scapegoated during the 1870s downturn, today’s immigrants are painted as threats to American workers. Trump says migrants “steal jobs” and “drive down wages,” while ignoring the actual structural causes of inequality. Wealth-based hurdles for H-1B visas, restrictions on asylum work permits: all built on the same assumption that keeping immigrants out will magically protect American jobs. The target changes, but the logic does not: protect the insiders, keep the outsiders desperate.\n\nIt’s not “No Asians allowed” anymore; it’s “You can only enter if you can pay the toll.” The words have shifted — “merit,” “abuse,” “national security” — but the message hasn’t. Some people belong. Others don’t. \n\nGatekeeping at the border bleeds into gatekeeping the Constitution itself. Once you’re in though, it may not be what you expect it to. \n\nInside the House\n\nOnce you’re in, the house makes the rules. Fraternities are notorious for setting the tone of how members act, who they associate with and even how they speak. The U.S. works the same way: once you’re past the border, culture and politics dictate what’s acceptable and what’s excused.\n\nTrump’s infamous Access Hollywood tape was brushed off as “locker room talk.” Anyone who’s been in a frat knows exactly what that means: a culture where misogyny isn’t condemned; it’s normalized as tradition. And Trump isn’t an outlier. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently scolded generals for being “fat” in the halls of the Pentagon. He said, “It's completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon and leading commands around the country and the world.”\n\nWhat starts as frat culture seeps into governance. The overlap isn’t just metaphorical anymore. It’s literal.\n\nThe Second Test: Will You Submit?\n\nEvery frat has rules, but everyone knows they bend when it suits those in charge. National bylaws formally ban hazing and restrict alcohol, yet incidents from Penn State and Bowling Green prove those rules are selectively enforced. They are college kids, not U.S. government officials. So, no. No leeway here. \n\nThe Constitution is supposed to be America’s house bylaws, but we’re watching them get bent the same way fraternity brothers bend their codes of conduct. \n\nThe Fifth Amendment says: “No person shall … be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” No person. Not no citizen. Yet under Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act, Venezuelan migrants have been deported straight into El Salvador’s prisons — without hearings, charges or convictions. That’s not due process. That’s rule by decree.\n\nThe First Amendment is also under attack. Student activists like Rümeysa Öztürk have been detained by ICE for nothing more than co-writing an article. Visas revoked, scholars deported — not because of crime, but because of speech. This amendment also doesn’t specify “citizens,” it specifies “the people.”\n\nThe Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause is hanging by a thread. Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship — blocked in court but revealing in intent — openly defies the guarantee that “All persons born or naturalized in the United States… are citizens.” If the president of the United States feels free to ignore the Constitution’s plain text, what comes next?\n\nThe Third Test: Will You Stay Silent? \n\nI don’t deny a country, or a club, has the right to control its borders or rules. Sovereignty matters. Rules are necessary. But we have slipped into what I call selective constitutionalism: rules enforced for some (Second Amendment) and not others (Fifth Amendment). \n\nViktor Orbán’s Hungary is the case study: elections still happen, but rules are bent until liberal democracy is hollowed out and only the shell remains. \n\nA common rebuttal is: “Trump just says things, he doesn’t mean them.” That’s a lie we tell ourselves to stay comfortable. When I say something outrageous, it’s just words. When a president says the same thing, it becomes marching orders. Presidential words are not idle. They are policy.\n\nEven when I disagree with a law — like the Second Amendment — I still believe in respecting due process. If Biden abolished gun rights tomorrow by executive order, I would oppose it. Because the process matters. Without it, the rule of law is gone.\n\nI use this metaphor because it shouldn’t be foreign to any of us: if you’ve witnessed the selectivism that exists in Greek life at Duke, or seen rules bent to protect a brother, you’ve seen the same logic, when scaled up, applied to our nation's Constitution. What’s tolerable as a flawed college club becomes catastrophic when it defines a nation.\n\nWhen rules are bent long enough, they don’t snap. They disappear. In a frat, that leaves chaos. In a country, it leaves tyranny.\n\nNoor Nazir is a Trinity junior. Her columns typically run on alternate Tuesdays. "

Parse the elements you want - 3

article_page |>
  html_elements(".article-content") |>
  html_text2() |>
  str_remove_all("\n")
[1] "Fraternities thrive on exclusivity. At Duke, that posture may be tolerable, even expected. But once you’ve seen how Greek life operates (gatekeeping at the door, bending rules for insiders, punishing outsiders) it’s hard not to notice the same logic playing out on a national scale. The United States, too, runs like a frat: immigration represents the rush process, the Constitution and the insiders who decide when those rules apply and when they don’t.The First Test: Do You Belong?Immigration is America’s bid night. Who gets past the door and who gets turned away, reveals who the frat thinks deserves to wear its letters. In the late 1800s, the Chinese Exclusion Act was the ultimate “you don’t belong here.” It was the equivalent of a fraternity cutting pledges at the door, not because of merit, but because of appearance.Historian Andrew Gyory argues in “Closing the Gate: Race, Politics, and the Chinese Exclusion Act,” that the 1882 Chinese Exclusion law wasn’t just about jobs or economics — it was about racial scapegoating weaponized in a crisis. In the recession of the 1870s, white workers blamed Chinese laborers for stealing jobs and depressing wages. Politicians ran with it, branding Chinese immigrants as “coolies” (a slur) who threatened white labor. This act suspended immigration, denied naturalization and subjected exempt merchants and students to humiliating interrogation. The same script is running today. Just as Chinese laborers were scapegoated during the 1870s downturn, today’s immigrants are painted as threats to American workers. Trump says migrants “steal jobs” and “drive down wages,” while ignoring the actual structural causes of inequality. Wealth-based hurdles for H-1B visas, restrictions on asylum work permits: all built on the same assumption that keeping immigrants out will magically protect American jobs. The target changes, but the logic does not: protect the insiders, keep the outsiders desperate.It’s not “No Asians allowed” anymore; it’s “You can only enter if you can pay the toll.” The words have shifted — “merit,” “abuse,” “national security” — but the message hasn’t. Some people belong. Others don’t. Gatekeeping at the border bleeds into gatekeeping the Constitution itself. Once you’re in though, it may not be what you expect it to. Inside the HouseOnce you’re in, the house makes the rules. Fraternities are notorious for setting the tone of how members act, who they associate with and even how they speak. The U.S. works the same way: once you’re past the border, culture and politics dictate what’s acceptable and what’s excused.Trump’s infamous Access Hollywood tape was brushed off as “locker room talk.” Anyone who’s been in a frat knows exactly what that means: a culture where misogyny isn’t condemned; it’s normalized as tradition. And Trump isn’t an outlier. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently scolded generals for being “fat” in the halls of the Pentagon. He said, “It's completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon and leading commands around the country and the world.”What starts as frat culture seeps into governance. The overlap isn’t just metaphorical anymore. It’s literal.The Second Test: Will You Submit?Every frat has rules, but everyone knows they bend when it suits those in charge. National bylaws formally ban hazing and restrict alcohol, yet incidents from Penn State and Bowling Green prove those rules are selectively enforced. They are college kids, not U.S. government officials. So, no. No leeway here. The Constitution is supposed to be America’s house bylaws, but we’re watching them get bent the same way fraternity brothers bend their codes of conduct. The Fifth Amendment says: “No person shall … be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” No person. Not no citizen. Yet under Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act, Venezuelan migrants have been deported straight into El Salvador’s prisons — without hearings, charges or convictions. That’s not due process. That’s rule by decree.The First Amendment is also under attack. Student activists like Rümeysa Öztürk have been detained by ICE for nothing more than co-writing an article. Visas revoked, scholars deported — not because of crime, but because of speech. This amendment also doesn’t specify “citizens,” it specifies “the people.”The Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause is hanging by a thread. Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship — blocked in court but revealing in intent — openly defies the guarantee that “All persons born or naturalized in the United States… are citizens.” If the president of the United States feels free to ignore the Constitution’s plain text, what comes next?The Third Test: Will You Stay Silent? I don’t deny a country, or a club, has the right to control its borders or rules. Sovereignty matters. Rules are necessary. But we have slipped into what I call selective constitutionalism: rules enforced for some (Second Amendment) and not others (Fifth Amendment). Viktor Orbán’s Hungary is the case study: elections still happen, but rules are bent until liberal democracy is hollowed out and only the shell remains. A common rebuttal is: “Trump just says things, he doesn’t mean them.” That’s a lie we tell ourselves to stay comfortable. When I say something outrageous, it’s just words. When a president says the same thing, it becomes marching orders. Presidential words are not idle. They are policy.Even when I disagree with a law — like the Second Amendment — I still believe in respecting due process. If Biden abolished gun rights tomorrow by executive order, I would oppose it. Because the process matters. Without it, the rule of law is gone.I use this metaphor because it shouldn’t be foreign to any of us: if you’ve witnessed the selectivism that exists in Greek life at Duke, or seen rules bent to protect a brother, you’ve seen the same logic, when scaled up, applied to our nation's Constitution. What’s tolerable as a flawed college club becomes catastrophic when it defines a nation.When rules are bent long enough, they don’t snap. They disappear. In a frat, that leaves chaos. In a country, it leaves tyranny.Noor Nazir is a Trinity junior. Her columns typically run on alternate Tuesdays. "

Wrap in a function

parse_article_page <- function(url) {
  article_page <- read_html(url)

  article_page |>
    html_elements(".article-content") |>
    html_text2() |>
    str_remove_all("\n")
}

Functions in R

function_name <- function(argument_1, argument_2, ...) {
  # what the function does
}

. . .

For example:

multiply_by_3 <- function(x) {
  3 * x
}


. . .

multiply_by_3(2)
[1] 6
multiply_by_3(10)
[1] 30

Revisit: parse_article_page() 

parse_article_page <- function(url) {    # define a function with one argument, url
  article_page <- read_html(url)         # read in the page at the url

  article_page |> # start with the page
    html_elements(".article-content") |> # extract element w/ selector .article-content
    html_text2() |>                      # extract text from element (and clean it up)
    str_remove_all("\n")                 # remove all newline characters, return result
}

Test the function

chronicle |>
  slice_head(n = 1) |>
  mutate(article = parse_article_page(url)) |>
  select(title, article)
# A tibble: 1 × 2
  title                                              article                                                                                                                                            
  <chr>                                              <chr>                                                                                                                                              
1 The United States is a frat. And I can’t unsee it. "Fraternities thrive on exclusivity. At Duke, that posture may be tolerable, even expected. But once you’ve seen how Greek life operates (gatekeep…

Test the function

chronicle |>
  slice_head(n = 3) |>
  rowwise() |>
  mutate(article = parse_article_page(url)) |>
  select(title, article)
# A tibble: 3 × 2
# Rowwise: 
  title                                              article                                                                                                                                            
  <chr>                                              <chr>                                                                                                                                              
1 The United States is a frat. And I can’t unsee it. "Fraternities thrive on exclusivity. At Duke, that posture may be tolerable, even expected. But once you’ve seen how Greek life operates (gatekeep…
2 The problem with censorship and discourse at Duke  "In the wake of the tragic assassination of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk, the Trump administration has attempted to crack down on what they …
3 The 'Duke Difference' we actually need             "A week ago, hundreds of Duke students filled Page Auditorium to hear Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg speak. He outlined a …

Test the function

chronicle |>
  slice_head(n = 3) |>
  rowwise() |>
  mutate(article = parse_article_page(url)) |>
  ungroup() |>
  select(title, article)
# A tibble: 3 × 2
  title                                              article                                                                                                                                            
  <chr>                                              <chr>                                                                                                                                              
1 The United States is a frat. And I can’t unsee it. "Fraternities thrive on exclusivity. At Duke, that posture may be tolerable, even expected. But once you’ve seen how Greek life operates (gatekeep…
2 The problem with censorship and discourse at Duke  "In the wake of the tragic assassination of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk, the Trump administration has attempted to crack down on what they …
3 The 'Duke Difference' we actually need             "A week ago, hundreds of Duke students filled Page Auditorium to hear Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg speak. He outlined a …

All articles

This can take a bit to run!

chronicle_article <- chronicle |>
  rowwise() |>
  mutate(article = parse_article_page(url)) |>
  ungroup()

chronicle_article
# A tibble: 500 × 8
   title   author date_time           month   day column url   article
   <chr>   <chr>  <dttm>              <chr> <dbl> <chr>  <chr> <chr>  
 1 The Un… Noor … 2025-10-07 10:00:00 Oct       7 Opini… http… "Frate…
 2 The pr… Harri… 2025-10-07 10:00:00 Oct       7 Campu… http… "In th…
 3 The 'D… Gabri… 2025-10-06 14:30:00 Oct       6 Campu… http… "A wee…
 4 Death … Luke … 2025-10-06 10:00:00 Oct       6 Campu… http… "Some …
 5 Hazing… Monda… 2025-10-06 04:00:00 Oct       6 Campu… http… "Edito…
 6 Duke’s… Lucas… 2025-10-04 10:00:00 Oct       4 Campu… http… "Duke …
 7 The wo… Leo G… 2025-10-03 10:00:00 Oct       3 Campu… http… "Recen…
 8 We’ve … Kayle… 2025-10-02 14:00:00 Oct       2 Opini… http… "As a …
 9 How Du… Neel … 2025-10-01 10:00:00 Oct       1 Campu… http… "Comin…
10 Why ar… Ryan … 2025-10-01 10:00:00 Oct       1 Campu… http… "The e…
# ℹ 490 more rows

Revisit: Summary table

Now that you have the data, how would you produce the summary table below?

Column Avg. # words/article # articles
Campus Voices 942 382
Letters To The Editor 307 19
Opinion 1020 99

Summarize 1

chronicle_article |>
  mutate(n_words = str_count(article, " ") + 1) |>
  relocate(n_words)
# A tibble: 500 × 9
   n_words title   author date_time           month   day column url  
     <dbl> <chr>   <chr>  <dttm>              <chr> <dbl> <chr>  <chr>
 1    1006 The Un… Noor … 2025-10-07 10:00:00 Oct       7 Opini… http…
 2    1189 The pr… Harri… 2025-10-07 10:00:00 Oct       7 Campu… http…
 3     778 The 'D… Gabri… 2025-10-06 14:30:00 Oct       6 Campu… http…
 4     614 Death … Luke … 2025-10-06 10:00:00 Oct       6 Campu… http…
 5     534 Hazing… Monda… 2025-10-06 04:00:00 Oct       6 Campu… http…
 6     839 Duke’s… Lucas… 2025-10-04 10:00:00 Oct       4 Campu… http…
 7    1212 The wo… Leo G… 2025-10-03 10:00:00 Oct       3 Campu… http…
 8    1245 We’ve … Kayle… 2025-10-02 14:00:00 Oct       2 Opini… http…
 9     937 How Du… Neel … 2025-10-01 10:00:00 Oct       1 Campu… http…
10    1041 Why ar… Ryan … 2025-10-01 10:00:00 Oct       1 Campu… http…
# ℹ 490 more rows
# ℹ 1 more variable: article <chr>

Summarize 2

chronicle_article |>
  mutate(n_words = str_count(article, " ") + 1) |>
  group_by(column)
# A tibble: 500 × 9
# Groups:   column [3]
   title   author date_time           month   day column url   article
   <chr>   <chr>  <dttm>              <chr> <dbl> <chr>  <chr> <chr>  
 1 The Un… Noor … 2025-10-07 10:00:00 Oct       7 Opini… http… "Frate…
 2 The pr… Harri… 2025-10-07 10:00:00 Oct       7 Campu… http… "In th…
 3 The 'D… Gabri… 2025-10-06 14:30:00 Oct       6 Campu… http… "A wee…
 4 Death … Luke … 2025-10-06 10:00:00 Oct       6 Campu… http… "Some …
 5 Hazing… Monda… 2025-10-06 04:00:00 Oct       6 Campu… http… "Edito…
 6 Duke’s… Lucas… 2025-10-04 10:00:00 Oct       4 Campu… http… "Duke …
 7 The wo… Leo G… 2025-10-03 10:00:00 Oct       3 Campu… http… "Recen…
 8 We’ve … Kayle… 2025-10-02 14:00:00 Oct       2 Opini… http… "As a …
 9 How Du… Neel … 2025-10-01 10:00:00 Oct       1 Campu… http… "Comin…
10 Why ar… Ryan … 2025-10-01 10:00:00 Oct       1 Campu… http… "The e…
# ℹ 490 more rows
# ℹ 1 more variable: n_words <dbl>

Summarize 3

chronicle_article |>
  mutate(n_words = str_count(article, " ") + 1) |>
  group_by(column) |>
  summarize(
    avg_n_words = mean(n_words)
  )
# A tibble: 3 × 2
  column                avg_n_words
  <chr>                       <dbl>
1 Campus Voices                942.
2 Letters To The Editor        307.
3 Opinion                     1020.

Summarize 4

chronicle_article |>
  mutate(n_words = str_count(article, " ") + 1) |>
  group_by(column) |>
  summarize(
    avg_n_words = mean(n_words),
    n_articles = n()
  )
# A tibble: 3 × 3
  column                avg_n_words n_articles
  <chr>                       <dbl>      <int>
1 Campus Voices                942.        382
2 Letters To The Editor        307.         19
3 Opinion                     1020.         99

Make a pretty table

with the kable() function from the knitr package:

chronicle_article |>
  mutate(n_words = str_count(article, " ") + 1) |>
  group_by(column) |>
  summarize(
    avg_n_words = mean(n_words),
    n_articles = n()
  ) |>
  kable()
column avg_n_words n_articles
Campus Voices 941.8848 382
Letters To The Editor 306.6316 19
Opinion 1020.2121 99

Update column names

chronicle_article |>
  mutate(n_words = str_count(article, " ") + 1) |>
  group_by(column) |>
  summarize(
    avg_n_words = mean(n_words),
    n_articles = n()
  ) |>
  kable(
    col.names = c("Column", "Avg. # words/article", "# articles")
  )
Column Avg. # words/article # articles
Campus Voices 941.8848 382
Letters To The Editor 306.6316 19
Opinion 1020.2121 99

Update digits

chronicle_article |>
  mutate(n_words = str_count(article, " ") + 1) |>
  group_by(column) |>
  summarize(
    avg_n_words = mean(n_words),
    n_articles = n()
  ) |>
  kable(
    col.names = c("Column", "Avg. # words/article", "# articles"),
    digits = 0
  )
Column Avg. # words/article # articles
Campus Voices 942 382
Letters To The Editor 307 19
Opinion 1020 99

Web scraping considerations

Challenges: Unreliable formatting

Challenges: Data broken into many pages

Ethics: “Can you?” vs “Should you?”

Source: Brian Resnick, Researchers just released profile data on 70,000 OkCupid users without permission, Vox.

Privacy

“Your” data

  • Every time we use apps, websites, and devices, our data is being collected and used or sold to others.

  • More importantly, decisions are made by law enforcement, financial institutions, and governments based on data that directly affect the lives of people.

Privacy of your data

Participate 📱💻 {.xsmall}

What pieces of data have you left on the internet today? Think through everything you’ve logged into, clicked on, checked in, either actively or automatically, that might be tracking you. Submit as many as you can think of.

Scan the QR code or go to app.wooclap.com/sta199. Log in with your Duke NetID.

Privacy of your data

Do you know where that data is stored? Who it can be accessed by? Whether it’s shared with others?

Sharing your data

What are you OK with sharing?

  • Name
  • Age
  • Email
  • Phone Number
  • List of every video you watch
  • List of every video you comment on
  • How you type: speed, accuracy
  • How long you spend on different content
  • List of all your private messages (date, time, person sent to)
  • Info about your photos (how it was taken, where it was taken (GPS), when it was taken)

What does Google think/know about you?

Have you ever thought about why you’re seeing an ad on Google? Google it! Try to figure out if you have ad personalization on and how your ads are personalized.

Your browsing history

Which of the following are you OK with your browsing history to be used towards?

  • To predict your age for serving you targeted ads
  • To predict your race/ethnicity for serving you targeted ads
  • To score you as a candidate for a job

Who else gets to use your data?

Suppose you create a profile on a social media site and share your personal information on your profile. Who else gets to use that data?

  • Companies the social media company has a connection to?
  • Companies the social media company sells your data to?
  • Researchers?

OK Cupid data breach

  • In 2016, researchers published data of 70,000 OkCupid users—including usernames, political leanings, drug usage, and intimate sexual details

  • Researchers didn’t release the real names and pictures of OKCupid users, but their identities could easily be uncovered from the details provided, e.g. usernames

OK Cupid data breach

OK Cupid data breach

Some may object to the ethics of gathering and releasing this data. However, all the data found in the dataset are or were already publicly available, so releasing this dataset merely presents it in a more useful form.

Researchers Emil Kirkegaard and Julius Daugbjerg Bjerrekær

Misrepresentation

Misrepresenting data science results

Some common ways people do this, either intentionally or unintentionally, include:

  • Claiming causality where it’s not in the scope of inference of the underlying study

  • Distorting axes and scales to make the data tell a different story

  • Visualizing spatial areas instead of human density for issues that depend on and affect humans

  • Omitting uncertainty in reporting

Causality - TIME coverage

How plausible is the statement in the title of this article?

Alice Park. Exercise Can Lower Risk of Some Cancers By 20%. Time Magazine. 16 May 2016.

Causality - LA Times coverage

What does “research shows” mean?

Melissa Healy. Exercising drives down risk for 13 cancers, research shows.
Los Angeles Times. 16 May 2016.

Causality - Original study

Moore, Steven C., et al. “Association of leisure-time physical activity with risk of 26 types of cancer in 1.44 million adults.” JAMA internal medicine 176.6 (2016): 816-825.

  • Volunteers were asked about their physical activity level over the preceding year.
  • Half exercised less than about 150 minutes per week, half exercised more.
  • Compared to the bottom 10% of exercisers, the top 10% had lower rates of esophageal, liver, lung, endometrial, colon, and breast cancer.
  • Researchers found no association between exercising and 13 other cancers (e.g. pancreatic, ovarian, and brain).

Carl Bergstrom and Jevin West. Calling Bullshit: The art of skepticism in a data-driven world.
Random House, 2020.
Sharon Begley. “Does exercise prevent cancer?”. StatNews. 16 May 2016.

Axes and scales - Tax cuts

What is the difference between these two pictures? Which presents a better way to represent these data?

Christopher Ingraham. “You’ve been reading charts wrong. Here’s how a pro does it.”. The Washington Post. 14 October 2019.

Axes and scales - Cost of gas

What is wrong with this picture? How would you correct it?

Axes and scales - Cost of gas

Axes and scales - PP services

What is wrong with this picture? How would you correct it?

Timothy B. Lee. Whatever you think of Planned Parenthood, this is a terrible and dishonest chart. Vox. 29 September 2019.

Axes and scales - PP services

Maps and areas - Voting map

Do you recognize this map? What does it show?

Lazaro Gamio. “Election maps are telling you big lies about small things”. The Washington Post. 1 Nov 2016.

Maps and areas - Two alternate tales

Alberto Cairo. Visual Trumpery talk.

Maps and areas - Voting percentages

Alberto Cairo. Visual Trumpery talk.

Maps and areas - Voting percentages

Alberto Cairo. Visual Trumpery talk.

Uncertainty - Catalan independence

On December 19, 2014, the front page of Spanish national newspaper El País read “Catalan public opinion swings toward ‘no’ for independence, says survey”.

Alberto Cairo. The truthful art: Data, charts, and maps for communication. New Riders, 2016.

Uncertainty - Catalan independence

Alberto Cairo. “Uncertainty and Graphicacy: How Should Statisticians Journalists and Designers Reveal Uncertainty in Graphics for Public Consumption?”, Power from Statistics: Data Information and Knowledge, 2017.