More than the name and the design will change during 1998. Here is a preview of several new services and features of AMSTAT Online, now in the planning and testing stages, which you can expect to see during the year.
An automated system will allow daily updates of a calendar of ASA-sponsored and coordinated meetings and events. As information becomes available it will be entered into a database. The page you see on the site will be automatically composed each day by a computer program that arranges upcoming meetings and events in chronological order and deletes outdated items.
Information about events sponsored by non-profit organizations other than ASA will also be posted. A form will soon be available on AMSTAT Online to allow organizers of such events to submit information in electronic format. After editorial screening of the announcement, this information will go into the meetings and events database for display online. Because the mainly-automated process will require little staff time and because we want to encourage dissemination of information about professionally-oriented events, we will provide these calendar listings free of charge.
The information for ASA's 1998 list of statistics programs in the US and Canada will also be organized in a database. A web form is available for schools to provide this information in an electronic format that can be easily transferred to the database. (Information not submitted in electronic format is entered into the database by ASA staff.) The edited database will be used to produce both the printed and online versions of the "Schools List."
For users of AMSTAT Online, a major advantage of the database approach will be that this information about statistics programs will be convenient to use. For example, a prospective student will be able to specify such constraints as degree level, degree type (applied, theoretical, mixed), and geographical region when viewing information about statistics programs. The web form allows schools to provide email and a web addresses for additional information about their programs. If provided, these addresses will be linked for easy user access.
Employment ads are currently available both in Amstat News and in a special section of AMSTAT Online. By using a database approach for collecting ad copy, we hope to make the online version easier to use and to provide quick posting online (at a surcharge) for employers who need to fill jobs in a short time frame. Because a database for paid ads needs to connect with other office software, this installation will be designed by a commercial vendor.
Soon ads for goods and services of various kinds will begin to appear on some frequently used pages of AMSTAT Online. Advertisements will be displayed in such a way that they do not interfere with use of the site. They will be small in area and linked to the advertisers' sites so that users who wish further information can obtain it easily. Because users will see only a few ads on any one visit, a reference page will provide an organized list of all ads currently available on the site. We hope that advertising will provide users with easy access to useful commercial information and AMSTAT Online with a source of revenue for a further expansion of services.
In 1996 The American Statistician completed its 50th year of publication. In cooperation with the Current Index to Statistics (CIS), AMSTAT Online will soon provide a comprehensive index for the entire 50-year history, searchable by year, author, and subject. Watch Amstat News and the web site for further information.
Michael M. Meyer,
Bruce E. Trumbo
Editors, AMSTAT Online