Matthew Medeiros, Social and Economic Impacts of Gambling in Massachusetts (SEIGMA) Website Manager, details the SEIGMA project’s new fact sheet series.
One of the challenges researchers face is communicating complex research results, arrived at through highly specialized data analysis and statistics, to the general public. Our team feels it is vital to overcome this challenge, especially since SEIGMA examines the highly polarized topic of gambling, with far-reaching potential impacts in the state’s economy and public health.
That’s why the team has initiated an ongoing series, the SEIGMA Fact Sheets, which will share information on the project, and ultimately our results, in a style that is engaging, clear, and avoids overloading readers with too much technical information.
“We already have methods in place to share results at an academic level," says Rachel Volberg, SEIGMA Principal Investigator.
"By creating the fact sheets, we are able to share information at different levels of complexity,” she adds.
The series begins with general background on the project. The first fact sheet explains the Expanded Gaming Act and how it lays the basis for the SEIGMA study. As the text explains, “The findings will be used in the development of interventions to minimize gambling-related harm and to increase responsible gambling in Massachusetts.”
Following this, the second fact sheet gives an overview of the organization of the SEIGMA project into three main research areas: Social & Health Impacts Analysis, Economic & Fiscal Analysis, and Problem Gambling Services Evaluation. These research areas will be the foundations for the state’s first-of-its-kind gambling oversight system.
“In starting the fact sheet series with the origins and basic elements of the project, we hope to lay the groundwork for future documents that will share our findings from the baseline survey, and ultimately information on the ongoing impacts of casinos in the state,” notes Volberg.
Ultimately, we feel this effort will be a fruitful way to engage with the public about this research, and are excited for feedback from readers about these initial fact sheets. Please download them at the links above, or visit our publications page for these sheets and more information about the SEIGMA study.