Dear RG colleagues,
Statistical literacy is expedient for the economic development of the world and especially the Africa nations. How can African government embrace statistical literacy?
We have to be careful. There has been a great fabrication of data, and the results have been fouled. That is why a researcher has to be aware of the the fact and double check reading and findings...
A series of simple and to the point videos that are publicly broadcasted and made available over the cyber space o express the basic notion of statistical analysis, methods, survey methodologies, their importance and how important they are for the development of their country to participate in national surveys. I guess this should be the first step to alleviate the problem of statistical illiteracy.
Statistical data from developing countries are indeed often questioned, especially academics. It is because in some developing countries national statistics are still under the control of the government. Often data published by the statistics office there is a political element in it. Yet the data provided by the statistics is at the forefront of the economic development of developing countries because the standard applied in the collection of statistics using international best practices such as the World Bank and other institutions. Therefore, government and development partners regularly use data from statistics to evaluate their programs and plans. So, even though some people doubt, data produced by statistics office in developing countries still consider as the blood for planning and program evaluation in the developing countries. The only issue is to make this institution become an independent body. By this, they will grow as a credible institution that can be trusted and accountable for any data generated by a statistical body in developing countries.
I agree with the caveats mentioned, but we also need to remember Greece, who knowingly distorted its stats to get into the EU. Comparing returns from the IMF and World Bank with the country of interests stats can point you in the correct direction.
It also depends on what you are researching. For example, Jordan's population figures have changed radically due to the influx of refugees AND illegal workers, but the exact figures are a point of contention between Amman, aid organizations, NGOs and other observers.
Dear RG experts, really appreciate your input on this discussion.
Thank you
Oluwaseun
A first problem is that there is no systematic and reliable data gathering in most developing countries. A second one is the lack of academics and others with the skills to analyze the existing data (quantitative research has a bad reputation in most universities). And then, statistical literacy is low among the population in general.
Dear Dr. Worse de Vries, I really agree with your contribution on this issue.
Thank you for your time.
Oluwaseun
In my own opinion, we seem not to value statistical data or we in the developing countries failed to make progressive positive impact of the valuable statistical data available to improve the social and economic wellbeing of the citizenry.
Thank you.
Good concern. If we don't value statistical data (as we should), why not?
Calculus of dynamical systems tells us we overvalue (and misuse) statistical data. See Article Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) on Moulding State Structur...
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