Data, Statistics, and Controversy: Making Science Research Data Intelligible

Making published, scientific research data publicly available can benefit scientists and policy makers only if there is sufficient information for these data to be intelligible. Thus the necessary meta-data go beyond the scientific, technological detail and extend to the statistical approach and methodologies applied to these data. The statistical principles that give integrity to researchers’ analyses and interpretations of their data require documentation. This is true when the intent is to verify or validate the published research findings; it is equally true when the intent is to utilize the scientific data in conjunction with other data or new experimental data to explore complex questions; and it is profoundly important when the scientific results and interpretations are taken outside the world of science to establish a basis for policy, for legal precedent or for decision-making. When researc