Author: ThisIsStats
In 2021, ‘Statistician’ Continues to be a Best Job
January 14, 2021
From monitoring pandemic impacts, to election projections, to social justice causes, the biggest issues of these times all have one thing in common: Statisticians and data scientists play an important role. So, it’s no surprise the new year’s job rankings put statisticians and data scientists high on their lists, continuing a trend of high rankings...
Looking Ahead to 2021: A Year of Opportunity for Statisticians
December 17, 2020
This year been unpredictable and unprecedented for everyone. With the dramatic shift in the U.S. workforce and economy due to COVID-19, you may be wondering,“Is a statistics still a good career option for me?” Although the future may seem unknown for many, don’t fear, future statisticians! There are countless opportunities to put your stats skills toward important and fulfilling work, including human rights, international development,...
Fall Data Challenge 2020: Congratulations to our Winners!
November 23, 2020
In this year’s Fall Data Challenge, Get Out the Vote, 56 teams of 66 high school and 61 undergraduate students submitted their recommendations on how to increase voter-turnout using voting behavior data from the Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics, provided by the IPUMS organization. Students recommended a variety of impressive voter-turnout strategies to implement for future elections. Overwhelmingly, their statistical assessment of the dataset led them to a correlation between increased education and increased voter...
Video: How Statistics is Making an Impact in Mental Health
October 26, 2020
Statistics improves our lives—including our mental health! In our newest This is Statistics video, learn how data from research and trials can lead to insights that not only improve our understanding of mental health, but also make it more personalized to individuals’ unique needs. This video features Samprit Banerjee, Ph.D., M. Stat. Associate Professor of Biostatistics,...
Fall Data Challenge 2020: Meet the Judges
October 20, 2020
This is Statistics’ fifth annual Fall Data Challenge, Get Out the Vote, is right around the corner! You and your classmates will have the opportunity to work in teams to apply your statistical skills to real voter-turnout data and provide insights to inspire more people to vote in the upcoming election. The submission window opens on October 19. With contest submissions opening soon, we want to introduce the real-life statisticians, with experience in election...
How to Create Data Subsets for the 2020 Fall Data Challenge
October 09, 2020
The 2020 Fall Data Challenge: Get Out the Vote submission window is almost here! In preparation, you can begin reviewing the dataset with your team now. For this year’s challenge, all submissions must utilize the IPUMS-ASA U.S. Voting Behaviors dataset. This rich dataset includes information about voting behaviors in the U.S. over the past 14 years, including 28 variables...
Fall Data Challenge: Resources Roundup, Stats to Increase Voter Turnout
September 21, 2020
This year’s Fall Data Challenge theme is “Get Out the Vote!” As the submission window draws near, let’s get inspired with some examples of how statistics contributes to this important aspect of America’s democratic process. According to Census Bureau data, 53 percent of voting age citizens voted in the 2018 election, an historically high voter-turnout rate compared...
New York Times Learning Network’s “What’s Going On in This Graph?” Returns for 2020-2021 School Year
September 15, 2020
The American Statistical Association (ASA) and The New York Times Learning Network released a new “What’s Going On in This Graph?” last week to mark the beginning of the academic year. Once a week from September to May, this ongoing feature shares a graph from a recent New York Times article without any contextual information. This gives students the opportunity to apply their statistical knowledge and critical thinking skills to deduce key...
Announcing the 2020 Fall Data Challenge: Get Out the Vote
August 17, 2020
ASA’s annual student Fall Data Challenge is back! Looking to gain statistics experience and make a difference in the world? Our Fall Data Challenge is the perfect contest for you. In this year’s challenge, Get Out the Vote, students will work in teams of two to five to apply their statistical skills to real voter-turnout data...
Fall Data Challenge: Educator Resources
August 13, 2020
You’ve heard all about the 2020 Fall Data Challenge: Get Out the Vote, so what are the next steps to get your students involved? Here are some tips on how you can incorporate the Fall Data Challenge into your upcoming curriculum. Get Your Class Involved Offer the Fall Data Challenge as extra credit or as a class assignment Volunteer...