A time to kill: Great British serial killers
"Serial killer" is a term customarily used to refer to a person who has murdered…
Charlotte Moragh Jones-ToddDecember 19, 2017
Statistical analysis, Strictly on request
I don’t watch Strictly Come Dancing, the BBC’s hit reality dance show. I have seen…
The Promise: When truth overshadows power
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is a prestigious event and a hot-spot for finding…
Levon DemirdjianDecember 11, 2017
An average understanding
In "The Shock of the Mean" (Significance, December 2017) I explained how, far from being…
Simon RaperDecember 5, 2017
People living near mass shootings “more likely to support gun control”
Analysis of public opinion surveys in the US suggests that increased proximity to mass shootings…
Brian TarranDecember 5, 2017
We, the millennials: The statistical significance of political significance
Kevin Lin, winner of the 2017 Statistical Excellence Award for Early-Career Writing, explores political engagement…
Kevin LinNovember 29, 2017
Picturing the Great Migration
This design essay is about the creation of two graphics for the October issue of…
RJ AndrewsNovember 21, 2017
Words in pictures: exploring repetition in song lyrics
It may not be immediately obvious, but the image to the left represents part of the…
Brian TarranNovember 6, 2017
So, were you surprised by the BBC/ONS crime risk calculator?
On 7 September this year, the BBC published a "crime risk calculator". A product of BBC…
Andromachi Tseloni and Ken PeaseNovember 1, 2017
A climate on the edge: Predicting environmental tipping points
In the coming century, we expect to witness dramatic changes to environments around the world:…
Ronan McAdamOctober 10, 2017
Plastic bag charge: Measuring success
In recent years, countries have passed legislation to charge shoppers for each new plastic bag…
Ronan McAdamOctober 10, 2017
The Great Migration: A Graphics Novel
In our October 2017 issue, RJ Andrews and Howard Wainer imagine a collaboration between two data-storytellers…
Brian TarranOctober 9, 2017
The remarkable life of Frances Wood
Each year at its conference the Royal Statistical Society (RSS) awards prizes to distinguished individuals…
Tim ColeOctober 9, 2017
Should we worry that half of Americans trust their gut to tell them what’s true?
Have you ever thought to yourself, “I’ll bet that’s true,” before you had all the…
R. Kelly GarrettOctober 2, 2017
Plastic in the ocean: How much is out there, and where does it go?
Plastic waste is found in ocean waters, on beaches and in the marine food chain.…
Ronan McAdamSeptember 14, 2017
Visualising regional data using the geofacet R package
Spatial data make an enormous contribution to our understanding of the world. They allow us to…
Stella Cangelosi, Luciana Dalla Valle and Julian StanderAugust 25, 2017
Graphical interpretations of data: An introduction
This is the first of a series of articles on the design of simple graphs…
Allan ReeseAugust 22, 2017
The ambitions – and challenges – of the 2020 Census: An interview with John Thompson
Tuesday 9 May was a busy news day. In the space of a few hours,…
Brian TarranJuly 19, 2017
Forecast error: Predictors of the 2017 UK general election
On 18 April 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May announced a snap general election for…
Timothy Martyn HillJuly 5, 2017
Teaching machines to understand – and summarize – text
We humans are swamped with text. It’s not just news and other timely information: Regular…
Karuna Pande Joshi and Tim FininJune 28, 2017
