Truths, Damn Truths, and Government Statistics

University of Glasgow, College of Social Sciences
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Truths, Damn Truths, and Government Statistics Podcast

In this podcast series, Professor Thomas J Scotto, Dean of Learning and Teaching in the College of Social Sciences at the University of Glasgow, looks at government statistics, challenges faced by civil servants who produce official statistics in an era of political polarisation and misinformation, and what can affect the trust the public has in statistics. The series directly accompanies the “Statistics in Government” class taught by Professor Scotto at the University of Glasgow but can be a useful accompaniment to external courses in Statistics and Society. The podcasts also will be of interest to those who have questions about how government statistics are developed. The focus is on National and Official Statistics in the United Kingdom, but several episodes make cross-national comparisons and cover more general topics. More information on the fully online MSc in Data Analytics for Government (MDATAGOV) offered by the University of Glasgow can be found at https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/mathematicsstatistics/postgraduate/mdatagov/ If you’d like to contact us, please feel free to e-mail thomas.scotto@glasgow.ac.uk. Support for this podcast was provided by The Datalab Scotland, helping Scotland maximise value from data and to lead the world to a data powered future. For more information, go to https://www.thedatalab.com/

Episodes

  1. 21/03/2022

    Trust in Government Numbers? A Conversation with Professor Sir John Curtice

    Sir John Curtice, a long-time Professor of Politics at the University of Strathclyde, is one of Britain’s foremost polling and public opinion experts.  In this conversation, Sir John discusses the concept of political trust, why trust in government statistics matters, and relevant polling data on citizen trust in National Statistics.

    28 min

  2. 17/02/2022

    Regulating Official Statistics with Mary Gregory and Gail Rankin

    The Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) is the regulatory monitor and evaluator of official statistics and bears responsibility for the Code of Practice for National Statistics.  Importantly, OSR can badge statistics that comply with the Code as “National Statistics.”   This month, Tom Scotto talks to OSR’s Gail Rankin and Mary Gregory about OSR’s work,  their roles as regulators and upcoming challenges to quality assuring statistics in the 2020s.

    31 min

  3. 21/01/2022

    Government Statistics and Practice: A Critical Lens with Dr Alex Fenton

    This month, Tom Scotto talks to Dr Alex Fenton, a postdoctoral researcher at Humboldt University in Berlin, who takes a critical look at how official government statistics are calculated.   Alex is the author of the recent book:  Official Statistics and the Welfare State: Measuring Poverty in Britain and West Germany (1970-2020) published by Transcript Verlag and available from online booksellers.   Join us for this foray into critiquing the idea of “official statistics,” comparisons between government statistics produced in Germany and Great Britain, and the ideal that government employed statisticians are at arm’s length from politics!

    24 min
  4. A Chat with Roger Halliday, Scotland’s Chief Statistician

    10/12/2021

    A Chat with Roger Halliday, Scotland’s Chief Statistician

    In this month’s episode, Professor Tom Scotto speaks to Roger Halliday, Scotland’s Chief Statistician about steps in place to protect the Government Statistical Service from politicalisation and the future of National Statistics.  They also gaze out into the 2020s and discuss government statistics in an era of big data.

    28 min
  5. The UK Code of Practice for Statistics - A Guidebook for Trustworthy Statistics?

    11/11/2021

    The UK Code of Practice for Statistics - A Guidebook for Trustworthy Statistics?

    The Code of Practice for Statistics now is in its second version and sets standards for UK national and other statistics.  In this podcast, Tom Scotto talks to Sandy Stewart, a government statistician in the Scottish Government’s Office of the Chief Economic Advisor about how the code is a tool is part of the institutional framework put in place to build confidence in government and national statistics.  Also discussed is how the code can be used by those outside of the UK Government who wish to produce quality and useful statistics.

    31 min
  6. UK Data Collection Efforts of the 19th Century

    12/10/2021

    UK Data Collection Efforts of the 19th Century

    Many of the challenges thrown up by early 19th Century efforts at data collection remain relevant to us in an era of omnipresent data. In this inaugural podcast, Tom Scotto talks to Dr. Michela Hulme, a historian, and genealogist who utilizes the UK censuses of the 19th Century in her research. Discussion focuses on challenges faced in initial data generation and collection efforts, early political controversies, and how these Victorian pioneers speak to current issues.

    37 min
  • 6 Episodes

About

In this podcast series, Professor Thomas J Scotto, Dean of Learning and Teaching in the College of Social Sciences at the University of Glasgow, looks at government statistics, challenges faced by civil servants who produce official statistics in an era of political polarisation and misinformation, and what can affect the trust the public has in statistics. The series directly accompanies the “Statistics in Government” class taught by Professor Scotto at the University of Glasgow but can be a useful accompaniment to external courses in Statistics and Society. The podcasts also will be of interest to those who have questions about how government statistics are developed. The focus is on National and Official Statistics in the United Kingdom, but several episodes make cross-national comparisons and cover more general topics. More information on the fully online MSc in Data Analytics for Government (MDATAGOV) offered by the University of Glasgow can be found at https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/mathematicsstatistics/postgraduate/mdatagov/ If you’d like to contact us, please feel free to e-mail thomas.scotto@glasgow.ac.uk. Support for this podcast was provided by The Datalab Scotland, helping Scotland maximise value from data and to lead the world to a data powered future. For more information, go to https://www.thedatalab.com/

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