¶ … Statistics to Mislead
Statistics can be misleading. People can use misleading statistics to persuade others to buy a product or share their point-of-view. Britain's Sunday Times, for example, alerted readers more than a decade ago to this tactic, showing that insurance companies often use misleading figures to scare consumers into buying expensive coverage they may never need (Cooper, 2001). In Mathematics in Our World, Bluman (2011) provides numerous examples of the ways statistics are presented to lead the reader to a false conclusion. This paper answers two of the questions in Bluman's textbook about misleading statistics.
No mathematical calculations were required in answering these questions. One need only to give some thought to the information presented. Statistics, when read quickly and without consideration, may appear to tell a certain story, often one that is meant to alarm the reader and/or incite action. Closer examination, however, can reveal a completely different story.
The math problems are as follows:
4. In many ads for weight loss products, under the product claims and in small print, the following statement is made: "These results are not typical." What does this say about the product being advertised? (Bluman, 2011, p. 810)
To sell its weight loss product, a company needs to show that it can yield dramatic results. People who buy these products are often frustrated and desperate because other methods of weight loss have failed. The company will show a result from the top of the range to entice buyers. An average or mean would be a lower number, which may not attract as much attention in advertising. The advertising shows what is possible, not what...
One of the most common fallacies is to confuse correlation with causation, but the two are actually distinct. My demonstrating that construction of snowmen and outbreak of acne occur simultaneously does not mean that snowmen produce acne. It may imply an underlying matter, such as the snow itself may contain some component that may instigate the outbreak, or the children who build the snowmen may be particularly vulnerable to
Misleading Use of Statistics The use of statistics by the media can sometimes mislead the readers. Consider the media's reporting of crime rates. The statistics they issue are manipulated such that a bias emerges dependent on the event being highlighted. Take for example Alexandra Mark's article "U.S. Crime Rate Up, Ending Decade of Decline" in The Christian Science Monitor; the author has compared the crime rate of the year 2002 to the
A level of quality assurance should be indicated within the confines of any study or related matter provided in literature used to inform, mimic, or develop in the means of school counseling. Retrospective Studies = Research conducted by reviewing records or information about past events elicited through interviews with persons who have, and controls who do not have, a disease under investigation (UP, 2002). This term may apply to the
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Animal Testing Statistics In research, reports, and activism efforts, statistics are often used to strengthen a specific cause or viewpoint. The challenge, particularly from the viewpoint of the reader, is that many of these statistics, while not inaccurately quoted, tend to be taken out of context. This creates an inaccurate focus that was unintended when the statistics were created in the first place. This phenomenon is clear in the guest post
Being able to express statistical results in ways non-statisticians can understand, and explaining those results correctly in language that does not mislead or confuse is becoming a lost art, if the popular media are any indication. Entrepreneurs will use these visual display techniques to increase productivity, notice patterns that may go unrecognized in tabular or numerical reporting, and communicate results quickly without requiring extensive and subjective verbal explanation. Inferential statistics
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