Enter the 2022 Significance and the Young Statisticians Section of the RSS writing competition for early-career statisticians and data scientists

Significance

Significance and the Young Statisticians Section of the Royal Statistical Society are inviting submissions for their 2022 writing competition for early-career statisticians and data scientists. 

This international award celebrates career-young statisticians, data scientists and researchers who can demonstrate the skills necessary for effective communication and who recognise the importance of explaining statistics to non-experts.

The award is now open for entries and welcomes submissions from:

  • students currently studying for a first degree, master’s or PhD in statistics, data science or related subjects;
  • graduates whose last qualification in statistics, data science or related subjects (whether first degree, master’s or PhD) was not more than five years ago.

The rules of entry are simple: competition entrants submit their best statistical writing in the form of a magazine article (1,500 to 2,500 words) on any subject they like. Articles will be reviewed by a judging panel, and the winning entry (and up to two runners-up) will be published by Significance later this year. 

What should you write about?

Successful submissions from previous years have been based on original analyses produced specifically for the competition. Past participants have also written about work they have done as part of their studies or during their careers, while some have written about the work of others in the form of a critique or wider overview of a subject area. 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. You should also review Significance’s Notes for Contributors for additional guidance and advice on structuring and presenting your submission.

The competition is open until 23:59 on 31 May 2022. Up to three finalists will be selected in June, with the winner announced in July. Finalists will be invited to give presentations based on their articles at a special session of the Royal Statistical Society International Conference (12–15 September 2022 in Aberdeen, Scotland).

How to Enter

Email your submissions as a .docx, .odt or .rtf file to significance@rss.org.uk. Make sure to include our competition entry form. The deadline is 31 May 2022. 

Please visit here for more information and full list of competitions rules and guidelines.