This essay details the findings of a project conducted to answer the question ‘How can contact tracing be implemented in the UK in a way that addresses the concerns surrounding the processes use of data while maintaining effectiveness?’. The essay details the approach of four countries that implemented varying contact tracing solutions alongside a critical analysis of the approach taken. Presented are four principles developed seen to help foster an environment for ethical practice when implementing contact tracing. Finally, the work ends by making a recommendation of approaching the problem of contact tracing by augmenting existing systems with digital data and techniques rather than the development of novel proprietary digital contact tracing systems.
As data science as a discipline becomes more popular there is a need to be precise about the fundamental aspects of the discipline itself and what we as a society want data science to be. A new definition for applied data science is given and how non-technical aspects of the work conducted by data scientists can be formalised. The work also proposes a new type of underpinning framework for the discipline and lays the foundations for a method of ensuring robust integration of Computer Science, Mathematics, Domain Knowledge and the Social Sciences to ensure that ethical applied data science is always conducted, no matter the organisation, team members or projects that conduct said work.