If you read Significance, then you are definitely interested in stories about statistics and data science, and fascinated by what data can tell us about the world we live in. So, how would you like to write one of those stories for the magazine?
If you are an early-career researcher, now is your chance. Our 2020 writing competition, jointly organised with the Young Statisticians Section of the Royal Statistical Society (RSS), is now open for entries.
The competition is for two categories of people:
- students currently studying for a first degree, Master’s or PhD in statistics or related subjects, and;
- graduates whose last qualification in statistics or related subjects (whether first degree, Master’s or PhD) was not more than five years ago.
The rules of entry are simple: send us your best statistical writing in the form of a magazine article (1,500 to 2,500 words) on any subject you like, and the winning entry will be published in our October 2020 issue.
But what should you write about?
Successful submissions from past years were based on original analyses, produced specifically for the competition. This does take work, but it often results in a unique and compelling article.
Last year’s winners, Liam P. Shaw and Luke F. Shaw, followed in the footsteps of R. D. Clarke, a British actuary who sought to determine whether the apparent clustering of V‐1 strikes on London during the Second World War was the result of targeting or random chance. The year before that, Letisha Smith scraped online recipes and used clustering algorithms to group together foods with similar ingredients to help streamline meal plans and reduce food waste.
You might also write about work you have done as part of your studies or during your career. However, if these articles draw on previously published work, you must ensure that the competition submission is sufficiently different in terms of style and structure. Remember: Significance is a magazine, not an academic journal.
You can also write about the work of others, but this must be in the form of a critique or wider overview of a subject area.
Please help promote the competition in your statistics department or workplace. Download the official poster.
Whatever you choose to write about, articles must be engaging and easy to read. Significance is published for a broad audience, so accessibility is key. This means technical terms and mathematics must be kept to a minimum and explained clearly where used.
We recommend you read articles from past winners and finalists to get a sense of the style of writing and storytelling that judges are looking for. A list of published articles from previous years’ competitions can be found here.
The competition is open until 23:59 on 29 May 2020. Three finalists will be selected in June, with the winner announced in July. The winning article will be published in the October issue of Significance and online at significancemagazine.com. Runners-up may also be published online or in print at the editor’s discretion.
Finalists will be invited to give presentations based on their articles at a special session of the Royal Statistical Society International Conference (7–10 September 2020 in Bournemouth).