R. A. Fisher and the Role of a Statistical Consultant

J. H. Bennett

Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, 1991, vol. 154, issue 3, 443-445

Abstract: Extracts from R. A. Fisher's letters referring to the responsibilities of statistical consultants are considered along with his view of his own role as a scientific consultant to the Tobacco Manufacturers' Standing Committee in the late 1950s. Contrary to a recent suggestion that Fisher may have been ‘misrepresenting data on lung cancer while acting as an adviser to the tobacco industry’, his letters show that he was very deeply concerned about the possible misrepresentation to consumers of an alleged statistical result. Further, Fisher believed that it is ‘only by giving students the opportunity of making fine distinctions in the logic of the subject that they can learn to recognize the difference between honest and dishonest work in statistical practice’.

Date: 1991
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