Statisticians
If you browse the articles on some news websites, you'll find a lot of stories about new studies, research, and statistics prepared recently on all kinds of areas of life. For example, a statistic recently released by the National Diabetes Association reported that the number of people with diabetes worldwide reached 537 million in 2021. I could show you hundreds of studies and statistics prepared across different fields, but have you ever thought about how statistics like these are actually put together? There are research centers affiliated with local, regional, and international companies and organizations, specializing in preparing statistics on every aspect of life - medicine, engineering, education, economics, industry, agriculture, and more. A group of specialists handles the work of putting together these various statistics and studies, and one of the most important of these experts is the "statistician," who's responsible for determining the methods used to gather the data needed for any statistic, and coming up with new techniques that help collect and analyze data accurately, in order to arrive at sound results.
Meet the Writer: Waleed Abo Omiraa
What You'll Actually Do
The core tasks and responsibilities that fill a typical day.
- Report results of statistical analyses, including information in the form of graphs, charts, and tables.
- Process large amounts of data for statistical modeling and graphic analysis, using computers.
- Identify relationships and trends in data, as well as any factors that could affect the results of research.
- Analyze and interpret statistical data to identify significant differences in relationships among sources of information.
- Prepare data for processing by organizing information, checking for inaccuracies, and adjusting and weighting the raw data.
- Evaluate the statistical methods and procedures used to obtain data to ensure validity, applicability, efficiency, and accuracy.
- Evaluate sources of information to determine any limitations, in terms of reliability or usability.
- Plan data collection methods for specific projects, and determine the types and sizes of sample groups to be used.
- Design research projects that apply valid scientific techniques, and use information obtained from baselines or historical data to structure uncompromised and efficient analyses.
- Supervise and provide instructions for workers collecting and tabulating data.
- Apply sampling techniques, or use complete enumeration bases to determine and define groups to be surveyed.
- Adapt statistical methods to solve specific problems in many fields, such as economics, biology, and engineering.
- Develop and test experimental designs, sampling techniques, and analytical methods.
- Examine theories, such as those of probability and inference, to discover mathematical bases for new or improved methods of obtaining and evaluating numerical data.
- Report results of statistical analyses in peer-reviewed papers and technical manuals.
- Develop software applications or programming for statistical modeling and graphic analysis.
- Present statistical and nonstatistical results, using charts, bullets, and graphs, in meetings or conferences to audiences such as clients, peers, and students.
- Determine whether statistical methods are appropriate, based on user needs or research questions of interest.