Effectively Communicating Statistics that Meet Census Statistical Quality Standards

Oregon Convention Center 

The Census Bureau strives to serve as the leading source of quality data about the nation's people and economy. The Census Statistical Quality Standards ensures the utility, objectivity, and integrity of the statistical information provided by the Bureau to Congress, to federal policy makers, to sponsors, and to the public. Visualizations created by the Census Bureau need to meet these high standards like other Census statistical products. Yet, creating visualizations that are clear and concise are often viewed as incompatible with the requirement to include information on statistical uncertainty. The additional information required can clutter a visualization and confuse people who are unfamiliar with measure of statistical significance. This presentation will discuss the graphical representations of uncertainty and conditional relationships, to (i) help analysts communicate principal results – and limitations on those results – in ways that are clear and resonate with a wide range of stakeholder groups; and (ii) reduce problems related to blurred, exaggerated or outright misleading interpretations of statistical analyses.