Archive Archives - Page 11 of 26 - Significance magazine

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Honey, I lost the kids: The undercount of young children in the US Decennial Census

In the five years prior to the 1 April 2010 US Decennial Census, there were…

Bill O'HareFebruary 11, 2016

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Will England’s rugby team redeem itself at the Six Nations Championship?

This weekend sees the start of the 2016 Six Nations Championship, in which rugby teams…

Niven WinchesterFebruary 4, 2016

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Voodoo polls are bad news: here’s how to spot and stop them

"Over a third of students ‘no longer wish to study medicine’ amid the junior doctors’…

Robert FordJanuary 20, 2016

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Getting more for less: Reflecting on the numbers in the IT revolution

A 2.7GHz processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 500GB solid state drive that is almost…

Steven FurnellJanuary 12, 2016

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Ask a statistician: What are the chances of World War III?

In the second instalment of our new 'Ask A Statistician' column, Peter McIntyre, a pharmaceutical…

Brian TarranJanuary 5, 2016

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The Great British Bayes-off: How much difference (statistically) does a soggy bottom make?

Macaroons, Swedish Princess Cake, and… hemp-flavoured bread? These days a simple Victoria sponge won’t cut…

Annie HerbertDecember 11, 2015

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How Frank Wilcoxon helped statisticians walk the non-parametric path

Part of the job of a statistician is to make inferences about a population from…

Mario Cortina Borja & Julian StanderDecember 7, 2015

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The failure of the election polls and the future of survey research

Before joining Significance, I spent more than a decade reporting on the market research and…

Brian TarranNovember 24, 2015

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Paper cuts: Do ambient light levels influence criminal activities?

People often feel less safe when walking in the dark, for understandable reasons. It’s harder…

Brian TarranNovember 17, 2015

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The joy of clustering

In April 2014, FiveThirtyEight published a statistical analysis of the paintings of Bob Ross. Journalist…

Samantha TynerNovember 11, 2015

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Patricia: a record-breaking hurricane?

Hurricane Patricia was the most powerful storm in recent history. But how do its 200mph…

Mario Cortina BorjaNovember 4, 2015

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Warren Buffett: Oracle or orang-utan?

Is the Sage of Omaha an investment genius, or just incredibly lucky? In this winning…

James SkeffingtonNovember 3, 2015

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Ask a statistician: Will humans one day live forever?

Henry Cole, a 17-year-old student, asks: "Almost every day on the news there is a…

Brian TarranOctober 26, 2015

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Who will win the Rugby World Cup? The (semi) final reckoning

It’s the semi-final weekend in the Rugby World Cup (RWC), with South Africa, New Zealand,…

Niven WinchesterOctober 22, 2015

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Two years ago, the UN called for a ‘data revolution’. How far have we come?

An Ethiopian woman sells crops in a crowded market. Farmers can now receive regular updates…

Claire MelamedOctober 20, 2015

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Angus Deaton: a statistician’s economist

Ian PrestonOctober 13, 2015

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Politics is broken: The Guardian’s Alberto Nardelli on the fragmentation of party support

It’s almost the end of party conference season in the UK – a time in…

Brian TarranOctober 8, 2015

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Running against the odds – The probabilities of the London Marathon ballot

The late Chris Brasher, founder of the London Marathon, described the event as the ‘Suburban…

Anthony HatswellOctober 6, 2015

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The stats in sport panel at RSS 2015: the bigger picture

In the absence of huge amounts of money, gaining a competitive edge in sport requires…

Oz FlanaganSeptember 30, 2015

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How to communicate the uncertainty in economic statistics

Government statistical agencies often report official economic statistics as point estimates. Buried within the documents…

Charles ManskiSeptember 22, 2015