Statistics Research Driven by Real Problems: The Expanding Legacy of John Tukey's Career in Data Analysis, Robustness, and Service to Science

• Activity Number: 44 - Tukey (1962) and the Subsequent Sixty Years of Data Analysis: Perspectives from Government and Social Science Applications
• Type: Invited
• Date/Time: Sunday, August 7, 2022 : 4:00 PM to 5:50 PM
• Sponsor: Government Statistics Section
• Author(s): Karen Kafadar*
• Companies: University of Virginia
• Keywords: statistical graphics; multiplicity; robust methods; jackknife; smoothing; ODOFNA

Abstract

Tukey's themes in 1962, viewed then as "heretical," are embraced today by statisticians who entered the field after his time. We recall these themes and their echoes by others in their recent works, with special emphasis on his urging statisticians into government service, to develop and use robust methods, the need for creativity in tools for data analysis, and especially the importance of solving the right problem, if only approximately, rather than solving the (often easier) approximate problem exactly.