Article : Damned Lies and Statistics By Joel Best
Discussion 1- 400 words (Chapter 4 on the book "Apples and Oranges")
Comparisons are important when presenting statistical findings. As noted by Best (2012: p. 97), "Good comparisons involve comparable items, they compare apples with apples and oranges with oranges."
Select a statistical finding where a comparison is made. Is it a valid comparison as discussed by the author or is there something more at hand here?
Discussion 2- 400 words (Chapter 5 on the book " Stat Wars" )
The focus of this chapter on Stat Wars is to show how statistics can create confusion. Some examples are presented here in the text. For this discussion select a current issue where there are conflicting statistics. How did this come about?
Discussion 3- 400 words(Chapter 5 on the book "Thinking about Social Statistics")
Having reviewed the various aspects of social statistics, how would you rate yourself now in dealing with statistical conclusions and findings? How about the issue of simply bad statistics? Is this something that can ever be addressed?