Hamersma uses a statistical lens to explore uncertainty in Comment

October 23, 2020

Comment

Sarah Hamersma

Public Administration & International Affairs Department

Center for Policy Research

Research Methods

United States

Comment

Sarah Hamersma

"The work of statistical analysis in the world of policy is actually to help us do what can be hard to do on our own: identify trade-offs, recognize the uncertainty, and use (formal) inference to help make a prudent judgment," writes Sarah Hamersma, associate professor of public administration and international affairs. "I delight to think what we can learn if instead of idolizing certainty, we apply a bit more patience and self-control to our use of data. Proper use of statistical analysis does just that—acknowledging future unknowns and conveying even what we learn within careful bounds of uncertainty," she writes. Her article, "Uncertainty: The Beauty and Bedrock of Statistics," was published in the latest issue of Comment. 10/23/20