Historical Sketch of the ASA Section on Statistical Graphics

Abstract

Although there was an American Statistical Association (ASA) committee on graphics during the first half of the century, the modern origins of the Section on Statistical Graphics date back to the pioneering work of John Tukey. This work focused attention on graphics as an analytical tool instead of simply as a means of displaying or presenting data. Tukey's interest and activities stimulated many people to pursue research in statistical graphics. These statisticians went on to create and guide the section. Without John's early work, the leading role in graphical methods may well have gone to another profession. Specific activities that led to the section's eventual formation can be traced to a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant that Albert Biderman received in the early 1970s to investigate statistical graphics. One of the ideas expressed in the grant request was that computers were going to make it easy to generate graphical displays; however, these computer tools would not necessarily be widely understood. Thus work should be done to understand the fundamentals of making good graphical displays. Many of the activities sponsored by the NSF grant focused on social-indicators statistics and centered on the U.S. Bureau of the Census and the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. The Social Indicators Committee of the Social Science Research Council was also a locus of activity. Money from the grant supported workshops that brought together statisticians and other scientists with an interest in statistical graphics. Interactions among the participants helped spark the interest that led to the formation of the Ad Hoc Committee on Statistical Graphics. An additional stimulus to the formation of the ad hoc committee was the high level of interest shown by overflow crowds that attended the graphics session at the 1976 ASA annual meetings in Boston. Following the meetings, Vincent Barabba and Roberto Bachi wrote a letter to ASA President Franklin Graybill, suggesting the formation of a committee on statistical graphics. The committee was approved in October 1976, and Barabba was appointed chair. Among the members of the new committee was Calvin Schmid, who had been a member of the earlier ASA committee on graphics. Because of heavy work commitments, Barabba resigned as chair in 1977, though he remained a member of the committee. Al Biderman was appointed to replace him for the remainder of his term. The ad hoc committee. was charged with evaluating the quality of current graphical production, assessing and evaluating the extent of research and teaching in the graphical fields, collecting information on statistical training and education of producers of statistical graphical material, identifying areas where existing knowledge seems satisfactory and where there are major gaps, identifying national and international avenues for fostering research, improving applications of graphical methods, and formulating appropriate proposals based on the results of the studies. In 1980 the ad hoc committee issued a report on statistical graphics to the ASA board of directors. This report highlighted several issues that continued to motivate statisticians during the next several years as the section became a reality: