ethics.txt

Data Science Ethics Checklist

A. Data Collection
* A.1 Informed consent: If there are human subjects, have they given informed consent, where subjects affirmatively opt-in and have a clear understanding of the data uses to which they consent?
* A.2 Collection bias: Have we considered sources of bias that could be introduced during data collection and survey design and taken steps to mitigate those?
* A.3 Limit PII exposure: Have we considered ways to minimize exposure of personally identifiable information (PII) for example through anonymization or not collecting information that isn't relevant for analysis?
* A.4 Downstream bias mitigation: Have we considered ways to enable testing downstream results for biased outcomes (e.g., collecting data on protected group status like race or gender)?

B. Data Storage
* B.1 Data security: Do we have a plan to protect and secure data (e.g., encryption at rest and in transit, access controls on internal users and third parties, access logs, and up-to-date software)?
* B.2 Right to be forgotten: Do we have a mechanism through which an individual can request their personal information be removed?
* B.3 Data retention plan: Is there a schedule or plan to delete the data after it is no longer needed?

C. Analysis
* C.1 Missing perspectives: Have we sought to address blindspots in the analysis through engagement with relevant stakeholders (e.g., checking assumptions and discussing implications with affected communities and subject matter experts)?
* C.2 Dataset bias: Have we examined the data for possible sources of bias and taken steps to mitigate or address these biases (e.g., stereotype perpetuation, confirmation bias, imbalanced classes, or omitted confounding variables)?
* C.3 Honest representation: Are our visualizations, summary statistics, and reports designed to honestly represent the underlying data?
* C.4 Privacy in analysis: Have we ensured that data with PII are not used or displayed unless necessary for the analysis?
* C.5 Auditability: Is the process of generating the analysis well documented and reproducible if we discover issues in the future?

D. Modeling
* D.1 Proxy discrimination: Have we ensured that the model does not rely on variables or proxies for variables that are unfairly discriminatory?
* D.2 Fairness across groups: Have we tested model results for fairness with respect to different affected groups (e.g., tested for disparate error rates)?
* D.3 Metric selection: Have we considered the effects of optimizing for our defined metrics and considered additional metrics?
* D.4 Explainability: Can we explain in understandable terms a decision the model made in cases where a justification is needed?
* D.5 Communicate limitations: Have we communicated the shortcomings, limitations, and biases of the model to relevant stakeholders in ways that can be generally understood?

E. Deployment
* E.1 Monitoring and evaluation: Do we have a clear plan to monitor the model and its impacts after it is deployed (e.g., performance monitoring, regular audit of sample predictions, human review of high-stakes decisions, reviewing downstream impacts of errors or low-confidence decisions, testing for concept drift)?
* E.2 Redress: Have we discussed with our organization a plan for response if users are harmed by the results (e.g., how does the data science team evaluate these cases and update analysis and models to prevent future harm)?
* E.3 Roll back: Is there a way to turn off or roll back the model in production if necessary?
* E.4 Unintended use: Have we taken steps to identify and prevent unintended uses and abuse of the model and do we have a plan to monitor these once the model is deployed?

Data Science Ethics Checklist generated with deon (http://deon.drivendata.org).