STATISTICIANS IN HISTORY
needs could be released without live. It is the first synthetic data Taking Her Time
disclosing personal data. Gordon product released by the Census
Gordon recently cashed in on the vacation
explained that two of these meth- Bureau and was presented at
time she accrued over the past decade,
ods are to add noise and to cre- the United Nations this year as
during which she was too busy to think about
ate synthetic data. Put simply, an example of U.S. statistical
traveling for fun. In 2008, she took several
these methods modify the data innovation.
in systematic ways so individual
cruises, traveling to Iceland, Ireland, the united
responses are not identifiable, but
Making a Difference
Kingdom, South Africa, Brazil, Turkey, Bulgaria,
the aggregated data are reliable.
Gordon sums up her job as “pro-
Romania, Greece, China, Malaysia, India,
These state-of-the-art meth-
viding information so people can
and the united Arab Emirates. Describing
ods to protect confidential-
make informed decisions.” For
herself as a “people person,” Gordon said she
ity have allowed the LED and
example, bureau data have been enjoys music, good food, fine wine, and
other programs to release valid
used extensively by many orga-
spending time with friends and family.
data for small geographic areas
nizations to analyze the effects of
beyond traditional boundaries
federal policy options for social
for public use on the Internet.
security and housing programs.
Gordon encourages new stat-
For instance, the LED flagship
“These decisions really matter,”
isticians to consider working for
product—Quarterly Workforce
said Gordon. “They affect mil-
a federal statistical agency. “The
Indicatorsp— rovides information
lions of people, so we want the
technical challenges and statisti-
about trends in employment, hir-
best possible information to be
cal issues we are facing are real
ing, job creation and destruction,
available in a timely fashion.
and interesting,” she said. “Just as
and earnings with unprecedented
You can’t have information if
long ago, when Morris Hansen
detail concerning geography, age,
you don’t have easy access to the
was pioneering the idea of taking
gender, and industry. Another
underlying data, which is why I
a survey and transformed statis-
LED product, OnTheMap, is
enjoy being at the Census Bureau
tics, we’re in a similar period now.
a mapping and reporting tool
so much.”
The problems statistical agencies
showing where people work and
are working on are important,
hard, and fun.” n
SEPTEMbER 2009 AMSTAT NEwS 13
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80