Significance magazine has just revealed the most read articles published in 2021. Unsurprisingly, two of the top three stories are about coronavirus specifically, while six of the top 10 make at least some mention of the pandemic. We present the top 10 most read articles published in 2021 below, but check out the article on the Significance website to see the full picture.
Most read articles published in 2021
Excess mortality reveals Covid’s true toll in Russia
Data on excess deaths in Russia in 2020 paint a much bleaker picture of the Covid-19 death toll than the official daily updated number, argues Dmitry Kobak.
The p-value statement, five years on
The American Statistical Association’s 2016 p-value statement generated debates and disagreements, editorials and symposia, and a plethora of ideas for how science could be changed for the better. Now, five years on, Robert Matthews asks what, if anything, has the statement achieved?
Covid-19: One year on…
Ron Fricker assesses the impact of the pandemic in the United States by calculating the number of “excess deaths”.
Statistical programming: Small mistakes, big impacts
Coding mistakes can lead to false results. Statisticians and data scientists should exploit best practices and tools in statistical programming to enhance reproducible analyses. By Simon Schwab and Leonhard Held.
Sound human, steer clear of jargon, and be prepared
Kevin McConway and David Spiegelhalter offer tips to statisticians communicating through the media, especially in the time of Covid-19.
Pietro the weather tortoise and the pursuit of soggy bun prevention
Can a pet tortoise really predict when it’s about to rain? And are the predictions accurate enough to prevent your barbeque from being a wash-out? Conner Jackson investigates.
Building back better needs better use of statistics
Paul Allin and David J. Hand call for official statistics to take centre stage.
Who was the best Friend?
A quantitative analysis of the TV series Friends, by Mathias Basner.
Covid-19: a view from the sidelines
Katherine Hoffman is a biostatistician in the pulmonary and critical care team of a New York City hospital, who found herself part of the Covid-19 response when the outbreak first hit in March 2020. This is her story.
How to mislead with statistics
Lessons from recent attempts to subvert the US election with data analysis. By Kristian Lum, Naim Kabir and Joe Bak-Coleman.