Towards the end of my PhD, I noticed that many people have difficulty understanding even some basics in statistics, which made me realize that more research on statistics communication and numeracy is essential to improve data-driven decision making on policy and individual level. For example, when comparing various treatments, a patient should understand what the corresponding survival probabilities mean and how (im)precise these estimates are.
Therefore, I decided to shift research focus from mathematics to the communication of statistics to improve the understanding of statistical results. I am currently working on several interdisciplinary projects, e.g.
- on effective ways to debunk misleading graphs, which is an ongoing project supported by the LUF Lustrum Subsidy;
- a large-scale survey to study effective ways of communicating statistical uncertainties and its effect on people’s cognitive, emotional, and behavioural responses;
- a pilot study regarding the effect of teaching students about misleading statistics on their ability to recognise misleading graphs and on critical thinking.
Publications:
You can find my publications via Google Scholar.