C
Is That
C
lear?
C
lear?
lear?
Communicating effectively
Novie Younger, Tropical medicine research Institute, university of the West Indies
H
eavy use of statistical jargon can be a deter- in everyday life. One of the early steps we can take is
rent to the application of statistical infer- to train students in consulting, so they will begin to
ence or appropriate use of results. As statis- learn the value of giving statistical advice in a clear
ticians, the make-up of our clientele ranges from manner before they begin to practice formally (see
students to collaborators in research to media per- Advice for Beginning Consultants). Novie Younger works
sonalities and lay people trying to make sense of the As statisticians, we have a tendency to think at tropical medicine
results we produce. How can we ensure our results there are certain facts everybody should know. research Institute
move beyond high-impact, peer-reviewed journals to However, our experiences show us there are basic
at the university of
active use in industry and everyday life? It begins competencies our clientele may not have. These
the West Indies in
with making our results more lucid to those with include knowledge of how a data set should be laid
Jamaica. Her research
little exposure to statistics. out and features of a data set that will ensure suc-
interests include
During the 2008 Joint Statistical Meetings, I cessful and useful data set merging. Thus, to facili-
analysis of complex
led a roundtable at which we explored methods for tate effective communication between statistician
survey data, survey
effectively communicating results and the use of sta- and client, it may become necessary to provide a
methodology and
tistical methods to people who need to use statistical document that outlines basic methodology relevant
data quality, teaching
tools and apply research results, but do not have a to data manipulation.
statistics in the pure
strong numerate background. The discussion made It is important that we become involved in train-
and applied sciences,
us recognize that appropriate use of results and ing those learning the applied sciences or working in
reliability and validity
methodology by practitioners outside our profession applied settings to become conversant with statistical
of screening tools,
can lead to more discussions of data analysis results methodology. We could host and attend seminars,
and analysis data from
epidemiologic studies.
NOVEMBER 2009 AmstAt News 11
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