Editors call for proposals

There’s a huge audience of readers who are hungry to learn more, but are daunted by math and statistical jargon.

The American Statistical Association recently partnered with Chapman & Hall/CRC Press to launch a book series called the ASA-CRC Series on Statistical Reasoning in Science and Society.

“The ASA is very enthusiastic about this new series,” said 2015 ASA President David Morganstein, under whose leadership the arrangement was made. “Our strategic plan includes increasing the visibility of our profession. One way to do that is with books that are readable, exciting, and serve a broad audience having a minimal background in mathematics or statistics.”

The editors—Nicholas Fisher, Nicholas Horton, Deborah Nolan, Regina Nuzzo, and David Spiegelhalter—also shared their excitement about and perspectives for the series.

“As a profession, we need to be far, far better at explaining, in plain language, how what we do is important in improving people’s lives,” Fisher said. ”Like it or not, our lives are full of uncertainty, and statisticians can help manage this uncertainty, even if it can’t be eliminated completely. How to get better weather forecasts—or election forecasts, for that matter—how to interpret opinion polls or ratings of colleges or DNA matches in criminal trials, how to recruit a new player for a ball club, …—these are all situations where statisticians make vital contributions. This series of books describes in a simple, nontechnical way how statisticians approach these and other problems, and how they make a difference.”

“Statistics is sexier than ever,” Nuzzo said. “There’s a huge audience of readers who are hungry to learn more, but are daunted by math and statistical jargon. At the same time, we have statisticians who are great storytellers and can make complicated ideas clear and relevant. The time is ripe for this series.”

“Our aim is for statisticians to tell stories about real-world problems,” Nolan added. “Each story will capture the excitement of recent developments in a key field. Problems and questions take the front seat, and statistics plays a vital supporting role. These stories will be short and fun to read.”

“Statistics is the science of learning from data,” said Horton. “A flood of data permeates our lives and helps us to make better decisions. These books will allow a wide audience to understand more about the world around them in an accessible fashion.”

“There has never been a greater need for understanding what statistics can—and can’t—achieve,” said Spiegelhalter. “I am so pleased to be involved in this series.”

The Chapman & Hall/CRC press release states the book series will do the following:

• Highlight the important role of statistical and probabilistic reasoning in many areas
• Require minimal background in mathematics and statistics
• Serve a broad audience, including professionals across many fields, the general public, and students in high schools and colleges
• Cover statistics in wide-ranging aspects of professional and everyday life, including the media, science, health, society, politics, law, education, sports, finance, climate, and national security
• Feature short, inexpensive books of 100–150 pages that can be written and read in a reasonable amount of time

The editors welcome book ideas. Contact one of them or send an email to asacrc@crcpress.com.

CRC Press is a member of Taylor & Francis Group, which is the publisher for all wholly owned ASA journals.