Statistics 101
Data Analysis and Statistical Inference

A Guide to Statistics Outside Duke

Statistics Organizations

Like most disciplines, several organizations exist to inform and coordinate the statistical community.  The web sites of these organizations are usually filled with information on careers in statistics, upcoming statistical meetings and conferences, statistical journals, and links to statistical sites on the web.   Here are links to a few of these organizations:

• American Statistical Association  -- great information on what statisticians do, careers and internships in statistics, conferences, and more.
• Institute for Mathematical Statistics --  links to international statistical groups and more.
• Caucus for Women in Statistics  -- promoting women in statistics.
• International Society for Bayesian Analysis -- information on Bayesian statistics, the specialty of Duke's statistics department.
• Click here for a list of other statistical societies.

Statistics in Government

Government needs accurate data on the U.S. to function well, and many federal statistical agencies exist to meet this demand.  Most of these agencies have web sites with lots of neat stuff.  Here are links to a few federal statistical agencies:

• United States Bureau of the Census -- descriptions of Census 2000, reports on demographic, economic, and voting trends in U.S. society, and lots of data to download for research.
• Bureau of Labor Statistics -- the agency that collects and releases data on the national economy.
• National Center for Education Statistics -- responsible for measuring the educational achievement of U.S. students.
• National Center for Health Statistics -- you want data on health issues, they've got data on health issues.
• Click here for a list of other important federal statistical agencies; there's lots more!

Statistical Consultants

Several statistical consulting groups maintain interesting web sites.  The groups often consult on large federal surveys and post links to reports of their studies.  Check out the  National Institute of Statistical Sciences in Research Triangle Park and the RAND Statistics Group in Santa Monica, CA, as examples.

Statistics at Other Universities and Colleges

In many universities or colleges, statistics departments are combined with or contained in mathematics departments.  At Duke, we have a distinct statistics department ( click here for statistics at Duke).  Here are some links to statistics at other schools:

• Harvard University Department of Statistics -- where Prof. Reiter got his Ph.D.
• Click here for a list of statistics departments throughout the world.

Statistical Miscellany

Here are some useful links to the statistical world.  In addition to the links above, these are good starting places for surfing the statistical web.

• StatLib -- contains data sets, downloadable statistical programs, and lots of links.
• ASA undergraduate education web site -- information on internships in statistics.
• What is a survey? -- pamphlets from the American Statistical Association describing survey design.
• Portraits of famous statisticians -- hey, how come I'm not shown there....
• Statistics and the web -- statistical demos on the web collected by Duke faculty and students.
• Society of Actuaries  -- Everything you ever wanted to know about being an actuary (rated as one of the top ten best jobs in America).