Statistics has had a good decade in many ways, thanks in part to big data, the emergence of data science, and concerns about reproducible research. The number of bachelor’s degrees awarded in statistics annually has tripled since 2010, and master’s degrees in statistics and biostatistics have doubled. US News and World Report and others have routinely ranked statistician or biostatistician as a top job. Similarly, Forbes has rated statistics and biostatistics master’s degrees at the top of their jobs lists.
Steve Pierson earned his PhD in physics from the University of Minnesota. He spent eight years in the physics department of Worcester Polytechnic Institute and later became head of government relations at the American Physical Society before joining the ASA as director of science policy.
The ASA p-value statement has been viewed an astounding 230,000 times since its release in 2016. And the article “Ten Simple Rules for Effective Statistical Practice” has been viewed 210,000 times since its release the same year. The ThisIsStatistics YouTube video Why You Need to Study Statistics has been viewed 111,000 times. Finally, the AP Statistics exam was taken by 216,000 students in 2017, making it one of the top four STEM AP exams.
On the other hand, the statistics discipline remains a small community compared to disciplines such as mathematics, computer science (CS), and physics. The total number of bachelor’s degrees granted in statistics in 2016, 2,800, is still smaller than just the increase in mathematics degrees, which went up 4,819 from its 2010 level to 20,665 in 2016. CS bachelor’s degrees in that period increased 11,636 to 26,332 in 2016, partially due to a recovery after the dot com bubble burst. Similarly, statisticians tend to be far outnumbered in academia, government, and business. I’m sure many of you could share stories of not enough people—including policymakers—understanding what statistics is and what statisticians bring to the table.
In short, there has been progress, but much work remains. Just as recent progress is due to many in the statistical community, further progress requires increased engagement by our community. Below are some ideas to advocate for statistics, and I look forward to your ideas.
I think the most effective way to increase advocacy for statistics is for more of you to be involved in activities that include nonstatisticians, so more people are personally acquainted with a statistician. Through increased individual outreach, more people would learn what statisticians do and what statistics is, which is the foundation of advocating for our profession. This involvement could take many forms, including the following:
Interdisciplinary Research
Those of you in the research community know well there could be more engagement of statisticians (or use of cutting-edge statistics) by the broader scientific community. No doubt there are endless examples of statisticians integrally involved in multidisciplinary research teams, but there is room for many more of the community to reach out to domain scientists and help solve key research challenges. What better way to advocate for statistics than to show firsthand what statisticians can contribute to science?
Volunteering
Offering your expertise as a statistician is a great way to demonstrate to nonstatisticians how statistics can help them. Some ways to get involved include Statistics without Borders, On-call Scientists, DataKind, and Statistics in the Community (STATCOM).
Fellowships
There are many fellowships that place scientists in organizations so they benefit from scientific thinking. Prominent examples include the AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellowships and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellowship. The ASA also established the science policy fellowship, for which the fellow spends 1–2 years advocating for our profession and for which we are currently advertising. The ASA is also a new sponsor of the AAAS Mass Media Fellowship that places students with a media outlet for 10 weeks.
Writing
Writing for other audiences is another important area in which statisticians can advocate for our profession. The writing can take the form of blog entries, whitepapers, op-eds, or letters to the editor.
Social Media
As in the other categories, there are many examples of statisticians successfully networking with nonstatisticians through social media.
Data Meetups/Hackathons
Go to a local data science event and identify yourself as a statistician. Just as we hope the broader data science community is open to what a statistician can contribute, be open to what you can learn from others.
Community Involvement/Service
Get involved in your community, whether judging at a science fair, making schools aware of the ThisIsStatistics campaign and Statistical Significance, running for the school board, or weighing in on school curricula.
Engage with the ASA
Be part of the ASA’s advocacy work! This can take many forms, including making sure we are aware of new developments, urging the ASA to speak up on an issue, sharing your views with us, or volunteering to serve on the ASA Scientific and Public Affairs Committee or an ad-hoc group addressing an issue.
Monitoring Policy Discussions
There are few policy discussions without a statistical component. Follow those discussions and monitor for sound statistical thinking. The release of the final report of the Commission for Evidence-Based Policymaking seems to have increased the attention and desire for evidence-based policymaking, providing a natural opening for our community. If you identify an opening for sound statistical thinking, make it known using any of the options suggested here.
Communicate with Your Elected Officials
Communicating—and ultimately creating a relationship—with your elected officials to provide a statistical perspective on topics of the day is also an important way to advocate for your profession. One should keep in mind that the staff with whom you speak may have had statistics in graduate school or may think of statisticians as people who collect data.
In short, the most important people for advocating for statistics are you all. The statistical community knows well the many invaluable contributions of statisticians to science, policy, business, and society, but it’s up to us to make others aware. The ASA, of course, has many programs—including science policy—whose goal is advocacy for statistics. If you have comments about these activities or ideas for others, contact me at pierson@amstat.org or add a suggestion in the comments below.
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