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The Young Statisticians Writing Competition
The why, the what and the how
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The why
- Significance is a showcase for statistics
– Busting myths – Answering questions – Supporting decisions
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The Young Statisticians Writing Competition The why, the what and - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
The Young Statisticians Writing Competition The why, the what and - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
The Young Statisticians Writing Competition The why, the what and the how 1 The why Significance is a showcase for statistics Busting myths Answering questions Supporting decisions 2 The why Significance is a showcase for
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The why
- Significance is a showcase for statistics
– Busting myths – Answering questions – Supporting decisions
- Written by statisticians for anyone interested
in the analysis and interpretation of data
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The why
- To reach a broad audience, we need:
– Enthusiastic statisticians – Strong writers – Compelling storytellers
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The why
- To reach a broad audience, we need:
– Enthusiastic statisticians – Strong writers – Compelling storytellers
- To find these people, we launched the
Young Statisticians Writing Competition
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The what
- The competition was launched in 2011, with
the first winner announced in 2012
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The what
- The competition was launched in 2011, with
the first winner announced in 2012
- The winning article is published in
Significance, in print and online
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SLIDE 8
The what
- The competition was launched in 2011, with
the first winner announced in 2012
- The winning article is published in
Significance, in print and online
- Runners-up are also featured on the
Significance website
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The what
- What’s in it for us?
– A great piece of content from a talented young writer
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The what
- What’s in it for us?
– A great piece of content from a talented young writer
- What’s in it for you?
– Exposure to our international readership of professional statisticians
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The what
- What’s in it for us?
– A great piece of content from a talented young writer
- What’s in it for you?
– Exposure to our international readership of professional statisticians – Coverage in mainstream/science media
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The what
- What’s in it for us?
– A great piece of content from a talented young writer
- What’s in it for you?
– Exposure to our international readership of professional statisticians – Coverage in mainstream/science media – The chance to present at the 2015 RSS International Conference in Exeter
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The what
- What we’re looking for
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The what
- What we’re looking for
– 1,500 to 2,500 words on any subject…
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The what
- What we’re looking for
– 1,500 to 2,500 words on any subject… as long as it involves statistics and/or statistical analysis
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The what
- What we’re looking for
– 1,500 to 2,500 words on any subject… as long as it involves statistics and/or statistical analysis – An easy-to-read, magazine-style feature
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The what
- What we’re looking for
– 1,500 to 2,500 words on any subject… as long as it involves statistics and/or statistical analysis – An easy-to-read, magazine-style feature – An original article that isn’t under consideration for publication elsewhere
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The what
- What we’re looking for
– 1,500 to 2,500 words on any subject… as long as it involves statistics and/or statistical analysis – An easy-to-read, magazine-style feature – An original article that isn’t under consideration for publication elsewhere
- See significancemagazine.com/writingcomp
for the full set of competition rules
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The how
- How do you decide on a topic?
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The how
- How do you decide on a topic?
- Remember: you can write about anything
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The how
- How do you decide on a topic?
- Remember: you can write about anything
– The population of rats in New York City – Using probability distributions to plan a wedding – Analysing Google search data to see whether Christmas really does come earlier each year
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The how
- Ask yourself: “What’s the best way to
showcase the power of statistics?”
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The how
- Ask yourself: “What’s the best way to
showcase the power of statistics?”
- You might want to:
– Bust apart a popular myth
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The how
- Ask yourself: “What’s the best way to
showcase the power of statistics?”
- You might want to:
– Bust apart a popular myth – Answer a burning question
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The how
- Ask yourself: “What’s the best way to
showcase the power of statistics?”
- You might want to:
– Bust apart a popular myth – Answer a burning question – Provide evidence to support decision-making
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The how
Make sure it’s a topic you’re interested in, personally and professionally
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The how
Make sure it’s a topic you’re interested in, personally and professionally If you’re not interested in what you’re writing about, your audience definitely won’t be
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The how
- How do we pick a winner?
– Our judging panel, including Significance editors and YSS committee members read and debate the entries
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The how
- How do we pick a winner?
– Our judging panel, including Significance editors and YSS committee members read and debate the entries
- Judges are looking for:
– Interesting, engaging and easy to read articles – A strong story, married to sound statistics and fault-free analysis
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The how?
The winner will be announced at the 2015 RSS International Conference Best of luck in the competition
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Any questions?
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