Strategies for Public Engagement with Official Statistics

Ridgway, J.; Nicholson, J.; Sutherland, S.; Hedgers, S.

Strategies for Public Engagement with Official Statistics

Ridgway, J.; Nicholson, J.; Sutherland, S.; Hedgers, S.

Authors

Professor Jim Ridgway jim.ridgway@durham.ac.uk

J. Nicholson

S. Sutherland

S. Hedgers

Contributors

M.A. Sorto
Editor

Abstract

High quality data are available on a very wide range of topics. However, there are barriers to be overcome before citizens engage with these data. First is access; data are often distributed across different websites. Second is exposure; data need to be presented in the most commonly used information sources. Third is engagement – creating a climate where citizens are interested in evidence. The House of Commons Library (Library) and Durham University are collaborating in order to promote better use of data. The Library is the first port of call for politicians; their blogs and tweets are a major information resource for journalists. A website created ahead of the UK general election provides a rich resource for data at constituency level. Quizzes have been created which run on smartphones, in an effort to engage a broader section of people in evidence-based discussions. We discuss strategies designed to encourage public engagement with official statistics.

Citation

Ridgway, J., Nicholson, J., Sutherland, S., & Hedgers, S. (2015). Strategies for Public Engagement with Official Statistics. In M. Sorto (Ed.), Advances in statistics education : developments, experiences and assessments. Proceedings of the Satellite conference of the International Association for Statistical Education (IASE), July 2015, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Conference Name	IASE Satellite Conference
Conference Location	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Start Date	Jul 26, 2015
End Date	Jul 31, 2015
Acceptance Date	Apr 30, 2015
Publication Date	Jul 31, 2015
Deposit Date	Sep 10, 2015
Publicly Available Date	Sep 24, 2015
Book Title	Advances in statistics education : developments, experiences and assessments. Proceedings of the Satellite conference of the International Association for Statistical Education (IASE), July 2015, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Public URL	https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1153595
Publisher URL	http://iase-web.org/Conference_Proceedings.php?p=Advances_in_Stats_Education_2015