Welcome to Stat Chat

Demography is destiny – or so, reputedly, said French philosopher and founder of sociology, Auguste Comte. While the assertion is, perhaps, too strong, demography can help us understand changes in economies, cultures, and politics. This is why we, research professionals at the University of Virginia Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, are pleased to offer our new blog: Stat Chat.

Through the blog, individual researchers will offer insight and commentary on topics of personal interest, including:

• How the intersection of demography and politics will influence this year’s presidential election
• The demographic underpinnings of current topics in public discourse
• What demographic and economic trends forecast for Virginia
• What we know about education and employment opportunities
• How to turn an avalanche of data about our world, our communities, and ourselves, into useful information
• Since statistics/graphics/analysis can mislead, how readers can become more savvy data users

Our regular publication series: Numbers Count – provides in-depth demographic analysis of a wide range of topics. These and other research reports focus on the numbers, and provide careful and formal analyses of what the numbers tell us.

In contrast, the Stat Chat blog is a vehicle for researchers to address subjects within their professional expertise and individual passions on a more informal basis. If you are interested in population trends, economics, politics, job training, data releases from the Census Bureau or other federal agencies, or other interesting sources of demographic information, Stat Chat is for you.

The opinions expressed in the blog are those of the individual and not of the Demographics & Workforce Group, the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, or the University of Virginia.