Open AccessMORE THAN JUST NUMBERS: CHALLENGES FOR PROFESSIONAL STATISTICIANS
Author(s) -
Claire Cameron,
Ella Iosua,
Matthew Parry,
Rosalina Richards,
Chrystal Jaye
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
statistics education research journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1570-1824
DOI - 10.52041/serj.v16i2.196
Subject(s) - workforce , legitimacy , public relations , raising (metalworking) , literacy , isolation (microbiology) , economic shortage , psychology , qualitative research , work (physics) , sociology , medical education , pedagogy , political science , government (linguistics) , social science , law , medicine , mathematics , linguistics , philosophy , geometry , microbiology and biotechnology , politics , biology , mechanical engineering , engineering
This paper describes a qualitative survey of professional statisticians carried out in New Zealand in 2014. The aim of the study was to find out if the issues this group faced were consistent with those identified in the literature. The issues identified were integrity, legitimacy, isolation, workforce shortage, communication, and marginalisation. They represent points of frustration for statisticians that may impact on the future of the profession as it responds to increasing demands and higher expectations. We found that these issues resonated for many of the statisticians included in our study and we have discussed a number of strategies to address them. They include raising our profile, attracting a broader range of people to the profession, increasing our communication skills, raising the statistical literacy of the people we work with, and a commitment to making it easy to engage with our colleagues.
First published November 2017 at Statistics Education Research Journal Archives