There are three ways that statistics and statisticians can play a role in good governance, said Professor in Applied Statistics, Chairman, Academic & Training Committee, IASSL and Head of Mathematics Department, University of Moratuwa, Prof. T S G Peiris.
He was speaking at the Institute of Applied Statistics Sri Lanka (IASSL) third International Statistics Conference 2017, under the theme of “Statistics for Good Governance.”
The event was jointly organized in collaboration with the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), USA and the Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Engineering, University of Moratuwa (UoM), Sri Lanka and National Science Foundation (NSF) of Sri Lanka at the Taj Samudra Hotel, Colombo.
The IASSL is the only professional body for statistics and has a close relationship with the American Statics Association (ASA).
“First thing is necessity for good data as major role of statisticians is to ensuring that data collected for use in policy decisions is of high quality. Collecting massive amounts of data has become easy. Collecting good data remains difficult.”
Knowing the difference is crucial for good governance, and is something statisticians are equipped to help evaluate.
The second role of the statisticians is to educate people, ranging from politicians and policy-makers to the general public, on appropriate use and interpretation of data and statistical studies.
“The last thing is that the statisticians can play a major role in improving statistical methods for more efficient and accurate data collection and analysis. Data collection and analysis methods need updating to keep pace with changes in society and advances in technology.”
Now more than ever, the world is driven by data. Businesses, economies, and entire countries depend, for their success, on its reliability and how accurately it is interpreted. The risk of misinterpretation and misuse, however, is high.
According to Professor Pieris, statistics are versatile and used by many persons and most of users misuse statistics or misinterpret the statistical results.
“If the correct inferences are not derived from the statistics, the decision may be wrong and ultimate blame goes to the planner, but not to person who derive wrong information.”
Therefore, IASSL is organizing short courses, workshop and diploma in applied statistics leading to charted statistician.
He further emphasized though various degree are offered by private universities in Sri Lanka no degrees are offered in statistics or mathematics by private universities.
The keynote speaker was immediate past president of the ASA, Prof. (Mrs) Jessica Utts, University of California, USA.
The objectives of the conference was to discuss new approaches and methodological tools directed towards improving statistical information towards decision making and good coherence, strengthen the coordination of regional and international initiatives aimed at improving statistical analyses and foster the development of effective and efficient official statistical services.