PRESIDENT’S INVITED COLUMN
As you may know, my theme for the year is “Communicating Statistics and Developing Professionals.” To this end, I appointed a task force—with
Karen Kafadar as chair—to discuss this matter and make recommendations. Following is an interim report.
~ Tony Lachenbruch, ASA President
Communicating Statistics Beyond the Profession
T
he charge of the task force is to develop ideas and strategies for
Task Force Members
aiding communication among members and between statisti-
cians and nonstatisticians, as well as promoting professional
Karen Kafadar Brenda Cox
Indiana University (chair) Battelle
development for statisticians. We appreciate the opportunity to pro-
vide an interim report on our progress to date and would welcome
Kathe E. Bjork Estelle Russek-Cohen
your input as we conclude our work.
Primetrics FDA
Beginning with the communications charge, the task force agreed
Nabil El-Khorazaty Jessica Thomson
that, for the well-being and sustainability of our profession, communi-
RTI USDA
cation between statisticians and nonstatisticians needs more attention Katherine Halvorsen Tad Archambault
than communication with other statisticians. Smith VirtuStat
To enhance communication with nonstatisticians, the task force
identified several areas for focus, including public interest, policy (e.g.,
contains liability coverage (along with other business property cover-
congressional personnel and aides), other sciences (e.g., climatologists,
age), which generally covers malpractice and other forms of liability.
astrophysicists, and engineers), law (e.g., attorneys and judges), public
Coverage also is needed for the (inadvertent or otherwise) loss of a
health (e.g., doctors, nurses, and epidemiologists), and business.
contracting organization’s sensitive or proprietary data and using one’s
Many of these areas are being addressed by ASA sections, commit-
automobile to travel to/from the contracting organization’s location.
tees, chapters, or staff members. The ASA’s public relations specialist,
The ASA may wish to revisit the issue of offering liability coverage.
Rosanne Desmone, plays a large role in communicating statistical con-
In summary, the task force is discussing the following specific issues
tributions for public interest. The ASA Committee on Law and Justice
regarding enhanced communication and professional development:
Statistics has addressed communication within the legal community,
especially as it pertains to judges and attorneys. Similarly, the Biometrics,
• Early development and improvement of communication skills
Biopharmaceutical, and Teaching of Statistics in the Health Sciences
(writing, speaking, presenting) is essential for all members, espe-
sections have addressed communication with health professionals; the
cially young professionals and academics.
Business and Economic Statistics and Quality and Productivity sec-
• Both undergraduate- and graduate-level statistics students should
tions have addressed communication with business managers; and the
be encouraged to present their work (papers, reports, etc.) in class
Statistical Education and Teaching of Statistics in the Health Sciences
and at meetings and seminars.
sections have addressed communication with students.
Because many other ASA sections, committees, and chapters may
• Statistics students should be encouraged to search statistical jour-
also have prepared materials, the task force is exploring a recommenda-
nals for examples of effective ways to present their work.
tion to house all ASA communication activities in a central repository. • Employers should be encouraged to assign one native English-
To further improve communication with nonstatisticians, we also speaking statistician to mentor a non-native English-speaking stat-
are examining recommendations for written and oral communica- istician. In general, it is beneficial, both in class and on the job, to
tions, whether they are articles for statistics journals or public maga- connect native English speakers with non-native speakers.
zines, materials written for the internet, speaking in testimony or to a
• Employers of statisticians should strongly encourage in-house prac-
broad audience, or presentations to the media.
tice presentations of all outside (oral or poster) presentations.
Members of the task force view the strengthening of oral com-
munication by native and non-native English-speaking statisticians
• Senior statisticians within organizations should be encouraged
to be especially important. Imprecise word usage and pronunciation
to mentor young statisticians. (Some branches at the National
can have an adverse effect on communicating statistics to any audi-
Cancer Institute have instituted a formal award for “best mentor.”)
ence, resulting in significant reductions in the perceived value and
• The ASA could cooperate with graduate departments to provide
reception of statistics. For non-native speakers, we are aware of two
statistics graduate students with training and provide advice about
effective approaches: a multi-day class in English pronunciation where
communication skills and professional development.
teams of U.S. statisticians coach non-U.S. statisticians in their oral
delivery to clients and a writing class for non-native English speakers.
Members of the task force recognize that many of these issues have
(The Statistical Consulting Section has developed materials aimed to
been addressed by ASA organizations and plan to do the following:
achieve similar objectives.)
Turning now to our professional development charge, we are focus-
• Distribute inquiries to heads of ASA chapters, committees, and
ing on the needs of private consultants, who need help publicizing
sections to submit information concerning what efforts they have
their areas of expertise, accessing nonstatistics e-journals, and obtain-
dedicated and where the results of those efforts can be found
ing insurance coverage. The latter is especially critical, as government • Identify a mechanism (e.g., more easily navigated web site) by
and other organizations require consultants to have insurance coverage which such information can be readily accessible to ASA members,
for “errors of omission and commission.” Typical business insurance statisticians in other societies, and nonstatisticians. n
2 AMSTAT NEWS AUGUST 2008
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