Research on how statistics inform personal decision making
Official statistics play a vital role in informing decision-making across society, shaping government policy and guiding business strategies. But how often do official statistics influence the personal decisions of individuals in their everyday lives? Understanding this is central to the vision of the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) and the wider legislative basis for the UK Statistics Authority – to ensure that statistics serve the public good, by making them relevant, accessible and impactful for everyone, not just institutions.
The Policy Institute at King’s College London and the Behavioural Insights Team were commissioned by the OSR to conduct research exploring whether, and how, people in the UK use official statistics for personal decision-making. Through 42 semi-structured interviews with members of the UK public and a nationally representative survey of 2,118 people, this research explored a range of real-world situations and hypothetical scenarios encouraging participants to reflect on their personal decision-making processes and whether these involved official statistics. Participants were also shown relevant examples of official statistics to explore their awareness, perceptions and potential use of these statistics in informing their decisions.