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How we choose which topics to work on, and which metrics to provide

On Our World in Data, we present thousands of metrics on hundreds of topics. How do we choose them?

On Our World in Data, we present thousands of metrics on hundreds of topics.

But there are many more topics that we could work on, and metrics we could present. How do we choose them?

How do we choose which topics to cover?

We cover a topic if we believe it helps our readers understand one or several of the world’s largest problems. More specifically, this means that a topic will fit many of the following criteria:

We evaluate ourselves how a topic fits these criteria. But we rely heavily on related research, especially research that is peer-reviewed.

How do we choose which metrics to provide?

For each topic, we work to provide the best metrics to understand it. What metrics are 'best' will often depend on our specific questions. Overall, a metric we provide will fit many of the following criteria:

The topics and metrics we present are not set in stone, and we keep thinking about which ones to add. So if you think a topic or metric fits the criteria outlined here, please reach out to us at info@ourworldindata.org.

Acknowledgements

I thank Edouard Mathieu, Esteban Ortiz-Ospina, Hannah Ritchie, and Max Roser for their very helpful comments and ideas about how to improve this article.

Cite this work

Our articles and data visualizations rely on work from many different people and organizations. When citing this article, please also cite the underlying data sources. This article can be cited as:

Bastian Herre (2023) - “How we choose which topics to work on, and which metrics to provide” Published online at OurWorldinData.org. Retrieved from: 'https://ourworldindata.org/choosing-our-topics-and-metrics' [Online Resource]

BibTeX citation

@article{owid-choosing-our-topics-and-metrics,
    author = {Bastian Herre},
    title = {How we choose which topics to work on, and which metrics to provide},
    journal = {Our World in Data},
    year = {2023},
    note = {https://ourworldindata.org/choosing-our-topics-and-metrics}
}
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