The document outlines a discussion prompt on the importance of statistical thinking for effective citizenship, referencing a historical quote by S.S. Wilks. Participants are asked to take a position on whether understanding statistics is essential today and support their arguments with recent scholarly sources. Additionally, it encourages peer engagement and reflection on justification and use of sources in discussion posts.

1. 1-2 Discussion: Data Literacy in Society
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As Marriott (2014) reviews the development of statistical
thinking over the last century, he provides an interesting
quotation from the 1950 address given by S.S. Wilks to the
110th Annual Meeting of the American Statistical Association,
in which Wilks states, “Statistical thinking will one day be as
necessary for efficient citizenship as the ability to read and
write” (p. 79).
Review the article,
The Future of Statistical Thinking
. Take a position. Is it true today that statistics are necessary in
modern society?
First, title your post either “Understanding Statistics Is
Necessary to Be an Effective Citizen” or “Understanding
Statistics Is NOT Necessary to Be an Effective Citizen.”
For your initial post, address the following:
Make your case by persuasively supporting your position.
Include at least one recent (within the past five years) scholarly
source to support your position.
Relate one of these programmatic course themes to your
position about whether statistics are indispensable in modern

2. society. You may want to review the
Programmatic Themes
document.
Social justice
Career connections
In your responses to your peers, consider how well they
justified their positions, making use of available sources.
Consider the following questions in your response posts:
Did they support their position convincingly using scholarly
sources?
Which of their points makes the most sense to you, even if you
made a case for the opposing viewpoint?
Post an article, video, or visual to reinforce a peer’s idea or
challenge them to see their point from a different perspective.
To complete this assignment, review the
Psychology Undergraduate Discussion Rubric
. You will also need:
Norms of Practice for Online Discussion
Ethical Usage Practices

3. Marriott, N. (2014). The future of statistical thinking.
Significance
, 11(5), 78-80. Royal Statistical Society. doi:10.1111/j.1740-
9713.2014.00787.x
Rubrics