Keywords
quantitative reasoning; statistical literacy; journalism
Abstract
Numeracy is not a luxury: numbers constantly factor into our daily lives. Yet adults in the United States have lower numeracy than adults in most other developed nations. While formal statistical training is effective, few adults receive it – and schools are a major contributor to the inequity we see among U.S. adults. That leaves news well-poised as a source of informal learning, given that news is a domain where adults regularly encounter quantitative content. Our transdisciplinary team of journalists and social scientists propose a research agenda for thinking about math and the news. We engage here in a dialogue about two recent news articles, contrasting journalist and researcher perspectives on each. We close by talking about the particular opportunities and challenges that the global COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare for both of our professions.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5038/1936-4660.14.1.1377
Recommended Citation
Barchas-Lichtenstein, Jena, John Voiklis, Laura Santhanam, Nsikan Akpan, Shivani Ishwar, Bennett Attaway, Patti Parson, and John Fraser. "Better News about Math: A Research Agenda." Numeracy 14, Iss. 1 (2021): Article 4. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5038/1936-4660.14.1.1377
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
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Cognitive Psychology Commons, Journalism Studies Commons, Linguistic Anthropology Commons, Social Psychology Commons
