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It evaluates “Big Data” and data analytics as potential remedies while also considering their limits.",{"@graph":14,"@context":72},[15,34,55],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/statistics-in-public-policy-debates-present-crises-and-adult-mathematics-education/588757/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/statistics-in-public-policy-debates-present-crises-and-adult-mathematics-education/588757.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Chumphorn","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-09","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":33},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",{"@type":56,"mainEntity":57},"FAQPage",[58,64,68],{"name":59,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":61},"How does the paper describe the role of statistics in public policy discussions?","Question",{"text":62,"@type":63},"Statistics are treated as an important tool for public policy debates, shaping baseline information for discussion and decision making. The paper contrasts this broader public-policy role with statistics as used in adult mathematics education research.","Answer",{"name":65,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":66},"What does the paper mean by an “overt crisis” of statistics?",{"text":67,"@type":63},"The paper links the “overt crisis” to growing public disenchantment with expert statistical methods, outputs, and pronouncements. It argues this contributes to dilemmas for both citizens and democratic governments.",{"name":69,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":70},"What is the “covert crisis” of statistics, according to the paper?",{"text":71,"@type":63},"The “covert crisis” is described as a struggle over information control—between proponents of freely available public information and those seeking to profit from appropriating and sequestering information for private ends. The paper then considers what citizens, adult mathematics teachers, and researchers can do in response.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":74,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":76,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":78,"site_id":7},588757,1792065877,{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":82},"success",[83,87,91,95,100,105,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":84,"show_sort_weight":85,"slug":86},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":88,"show_sort_weight":89,"slug":90},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":92,"show_sort_weight":93,"slug":94},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":96,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":101,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":131},{"doc_id":78,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":111,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":33,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":111,"language":139,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":79,"read_time":117,"preview_page_count":4},2336475401981,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/22000c94efd8d5204d?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1786935347598174694","Statistics in public policy debates: Present crises and adult  \nmathematics education  \nJeff Evans  \nMiddlesex University  \n\u003Cj.evans [at] [mdx.ac.uk](mdx.ac.uk) >  \nAbstract  \nStatistics is one of the important branches of mathematics taught in schools, colleges and universities. It is also an important tool in public policy discussions. This paper focuses on the use of statistics in the latter context, rather than its use in adult mathematics education research. I review the key characteristics of the statistical approach to constructing public knowledge, and give a very brief history of key points in its development. I discuss how what I call the “overt crisis of statistics”, the apparent disenchantment of large sections of the public with the “expert” statistical methods, outputs and pronouncements, leads to dilemmas both for citizens and for democratic governments. Recently “Big Data” and data analytics seem to many to offer new solutions to problems resulting from the essential lack of certainty surrounding efforts to understand society, and from the need to make quick decisions in a rapidly changing world. These approaches have potential, but also limitations. This leads me to consider a second, “covert” crisis of statistics, resulting from a struggle between proponents of freely available public information and public argument, and those aiming to profit from the appropriation and sequestering of information for private ends. I finish by considering what can be done by ourselves, as citizens, at adult mathematics teachers, and as researchers.  \nKey words: statistics; public policy; big data; data analytics; technology corporations  \nIntroduction  \nDuring most of our lifetimes, it has been accepted that, in most countries with a developed civil society, citizens and policy makers could rely on statistics – those produced by government agencies, or those from well-designed surveys from other agencies – to set a baseline for discussion and decision making. Thus we have quoted official statistics, results from the European Labour Force Survey, or figures compiled by the World Bank, in discussions of unemployment. Or we have used national household surveys, to estimate the numbers of victims of crime, or of those who rate their own health as poor.  \nNow, given events of the last two years, and subsequent public reactions, these previously accepted resources are facing new challenges. For example, a recent article by Will Davies in The Guardian,“Have statistics lost their power in public policy discussions?”, has raised challenging questions regarding the role of statistics in public discussions:  \nRather than diffusing controversy and polarisation, it seems as if statistics are actually stoking them.  \nAntipathy to statistics has become one of the hallmarks ofthe populist right, with statisticians and economists chief among the various “experts” ostensibly rejected by voters in 2016.  \n(DAVIES, 2017)  \nDavies, writing just after the Brexit vote and the Trump victory, focuses on the UK and the US, but the issues apply more widely. Here, I first briefly consider key points of the statistical approach, and its historical development. I then explore the idea of a “crisis” in statistics, and argue that it is actually two different crises, based in different social groups. This leads me to consider the recently voguish notion of “Big Data”, and the sorts of data analytics used with it. I finish with some suggestions about how citizens can withstand the most challenging features of the society that the large technology / media companies have established, and consider some ways that these ideas can be highlighted in the adult mathematics classroom.  \nThe statistical approach, and a brief historical development  \nIn order to have a clear discussion, we need to understand that “statistics” can refer to three different aspects, though they are related:  \n(i) statistical data, and / or  \n(ii) statistical techniques of data analysis (e.g","cbCaitnJtqt0ylxG","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaitnJtqt0ylxG","pdf",156307,"English","# Abstract\n# Introduction\n# The statistical approach, and a brief historical development","[{\"question\":\"How does the paper describe the role of statistics in public policy discussions?\",\"answer\":\"Statistics are treated as an important tool for public policy debates, shaping baseline information for discussion and decision making. The paper contrasts this broader public-policy role with statistics as used in adult mathematics education research.\"},{\"question\":\"What does the paper mean by an “overt crisis” of statistics?\",\"answer\":\"The paper links the “overt crisis” to growing public disenchantment with expert statistical methods, outputs, and pronouncements. It argues this contributes to dilemmas for both citizens and democratic governments.\"},{\"question\":\"What is the “covert crisis” of statistics, according to the paper?\",\"answer\":\"The “covert crisis” is described as a struggle over information control—between proponents of freely available public information and those seeking to profit from appropriating and sequestering information for private ends. The paper then considers what citizens, adult mathematics teachers, and researchers can do in response.\"}]","Statistics in Public Policy Debates - Present Crises and Adult Mathematics Education | PDF"]