<p>I wouldn't recommend closing that question or migrating it to, say, the <a href="https://philosophy.stackexchange.com/">Philosophy</a> SE site.  The ethical concerns are grounded in the properties of the analyses, which we can discuss here.  For example, the question is motivated by the assumption that using a mixed model will yield a biased estimate.  What methods are biased, how much, and in what manner, are things we can explore.  In the end, there will be different pros and cons for different choices; I don't think we should tell you that you are obligated to chose pro A over pro B given con B vs. con A, but by the time all of that is clear you will be equipped to make the appropriate decision yourself.</p>
