Abstract
This essay presents data from a census of statistics requirements and offerings at all 4-year journalism programs in the United States (N = 369) and proposes a model of a potential course in statistics for journalism majors. The author proposes that three philosophies underlie a statistics course for journalism students. Such a course should (a) represent a statistics course with journalism, not a journalism course seasoned with a few statistics; (b) encourage awareness of error and skepticism of omniscience of official figures; and (c) cultivate statistical enthusiasts, not formulae repositories. Findings report students in just one fifth of U.S. journalism programs are required to take statistics, and none of those programs offer a course within their own academic unit that fulfills a traditional statistics requirement.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 461-479 |
| Number of pages | 19 |
| Journal | Journalism and Mass Communication Educator |
| Volume | 72 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs |
|
| State | Published - Nov 1 2017 |
Keywords
- Curriculum
- Data
- Journalism
- Numeracy
- Statistics
- Undergraduate education
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Communication
- Education