Exam-Map Self-Test
Classify the kind of knowledge being tested before choosing an answer: principle, privacy theme, unethical-practice risk, culture/control, or Governance/oversight.
1. Group disparity
A hiring model performs well overall but qualified applicants from one protected population are rejected at a much higher rate.
Best classification: Justice. Overall accuracy does not answer the fairness/disparate-impact question.
2. Keep it forever
A company retains identifiable customer data indefinitely because storage is cheap and a future use may appear.
Best themes: purpose limitation and storage/retention limitation, reinforced by minimization, transparency and accountability.
3. Similar labels, different populations
A report treats “unemployed adults” and “people receiving unemployment benefits” as identical populations.
Best classification: Unclear definitions / invalid comparison.
4. Keep filtering until a hunch wins
An analyst changes filters repeatedly until a statistically impressive subset supports a manager’s prior belief.
Best classification: Bias — hunch and search / biased use of data.
5. Integrated but unexplained
A newly merged dataset has no reliable lineage, unclear definitions and no record of remediation changes.
Best interpretation: It is an ethical as well as technical risk. Do not use it consequentially until provenance, meaning, quality and change history are governed.
6. Names removed, Governance dismissed
A team removes names and email addresses and says Governance review is no longer necessary.
Best response: Reject the assumption. Obfuscation reduces exposure but does not guarantee anonymity or eliminate ethical risk.
7. Ethics statement only
An organization has a public ethics statement but no training, escalation, monitoring or retaliation protection.
Best classification: Operational ethical-culture failure. Values have not been translated into practices, controls and organizational mechanisms.
8. High-impact scoring proposal
BI proposes a personal-data scoring system with material customer effects. Who provides organizational oversight?
Best response: Data Governance in coordination with legal counsel, while practitioners remain responsible for surfacing and explaining ethical risk.
One-page final checklist
Can you:
- define Data Handling Ethics beyond privacy/security?
- name people/misuse/value as the three concerns?
- apply Respect, Beneficence and Justice to a dilemma?
- explain why “legal” does not mean “ethical”?
- recognize purpose/minimization/accuracy/retention/security/accountability/transparency themes?
- classify all six §3.4 risks?
- distinguish principle, risk, practice and control?
- reason through Population → Capture → Analysis → Results/Use?
- choose an organizational response that includes leadership, Governance, safe escalation, training, monitoring and documentation?
Ready-enough standard: Fast recognition + correct classification + responsible best-action reasoning. Do not inflate a 2% chapter into a law course.