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Library | Material Type | Call Number | Child Count | Shelf Location | Status | Item Holds |
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Searching... Science | Book | 303.38 B464D, 2001 | 1 | Stacks | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Science | Book | QA276 .B47 2001 | 1 | Stacks | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Science | Book | 303.38 B554D | 1 | Stacks | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Summary
Summary
Does the number of children gunned down double each year? Does anorexia kill 150,000 young women annually? Do white males account for only a sixth of new workers? Startling statistics shape our thinking about social issues. But all too often, these numbers are wrong. This book is a lively guide to spotting bad statistics and learning to think critically about these influential numbers. Damned Lies and Statistics is essential reading for everyone who reads or listens to the news, for students, and for anyone who relies on statistical information to understand social problems.
Joel Best bases his discussion on a wide assortment of intriguing contemporary issues that have garnered much recent media attention, including abortion, cyberporn, homelessness, the Million Man March, teen suicide, the U.S. census, and much more. Using examples from the New York Times, the Washington Post, and other major newspapers and television programs, he unravels many fascinating examples of the use, misuse, and abuse of statistical information.
In this book Best shows us exactly how and why bad statistics emerge, spread, and come to shape policy debates. He recommends specific ways to detect bad statistics, and shows how to think more critically about "stat wars," or disputes over social statistics among various experts. Understanding this book does not require sophisticated mathematical knowledge; Best discusses the most basic and most easily understood forms of statistics, such as percentages, averages, and rates.
This accessible book provides an alternative to either naively accepting the statistics we hear or cynically assuming that all numbers are meaningless. It shows how anyone can become a more intelligent, critical, and empowered consumer of the statistics that inundate both the social sciences and our media-saturated lives.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Who really said, "There are lies, damned lies, and statistics" Mark Twain or Benjamin Disraeli? Best, professor of sociology at the University of Delaware and author of several books, including Random Violence, settles the question once and for all: Disraeli (whom Twain credits for his use of the remark in his autobiography). The quote's misattribution is similar to the twisted course statistics often take as they "mutate" into bar-chart monsters with slim if any relation to the original numbers or reality. For instance, a few years ago it was estimated that 150,000 American women are anorexic. Somehow, this mutated into an erroneous if not dangerous statistic: 150,000 women die annually from anorexia. Since only about 55,500 American women between 15 and 44 (the age range for most cases of anorexia) die from all causes each year, this number challenges common sense and the ability of reporters to question what they write about. But it has become a frequently cited, "authoritative" figure that's hard to dispute. Best explains in untechnical language important statistical concepts like "dark figures," "false positives" and "false negatives," and how statisticians often err in comparing dissimilar groups (e.g., test scores of American high school students to those of Europeans, with their multitrack systems of secondary education). He has an annoying habit of italicizing words and phrases to emphasize a point, and he conflates "activists" and "advocates" (academic writers' favorite bogeymen as purveyors of suspect statistics), but these are minor issues. This informative and well-written little book will be a particularly worthwhile addition to libraries' collections and will help all readers become savvier and more critical news consumers. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
One intriguing contention in Best's counsel on how not to be snowed by statistics is that statistics actually create social problems. Only after someone measures the extent of a predicament and trumpets the findings does society decide it has a problem. Take anorexia, of which 150,000 young women were said to die each year. Unfortunately, the statistic involved in that case was bad, a misrepresentation of an estimate that 150,000 may suffer from anorexia. Such mangling is just one, if often the most dramatic, way of making statistics bad that Best wants readers to watch out for. Others are poor definition of what is to be measured, sampling that inaccurately reflects the constituents of what is measured, and guessing instead of measuring. Using numbers tossed about in major controversies, such as Kinsey's 10 percent figure for the proportion of Americans who are homosexuals, Best shows how to spot all those ways of producing bad statistics. And before you critique the numbers, he says, assess their sources for trustworthiness. Invaluable counsel for good citizenship. --Ray Olson
Choice Review
To many, disentangling the various (often sensational) statistics used in conjunction with social issues is an intimidating task. Best attempts to guide everyday people through the complexities of evaluating the statistics we frequently hear. Recognizing that no statistic is absolutely foolproof or complete, he presents guidelines for what "good" statistics should entail and offers questions that critical observers should ask themselves when they hear social statistics. Filled with relevant examples and explanations behind problematic statistics, the book does an excellent job of illustrating the guidelines without belittling those who use or transmit "bad" statistics. While the explanations and examples at times become repetitive and belabor the point being made, overall the book is easily read and appropriate for readers with little or no statistical background. Given the increasing importance of statistics in everyday life, this book is a useful addition to the library of any professor, professional, or student in the social sciences. L. Wolfer University of Scranton
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments | p. ix |
Introduction: The Worst Social Statistic Ever | p. 1 |
1 The Importance of Social Statistics | p. 9 |
2 Soft Facts: Sources of Bad Statistics | p. 30 |
3 Mutant Statistics: Methods for Mangling Numbers | p. 62 |
4 Apples and Oranges: Inappropriate Comparisons | p. 96 |
5 Stat Wars: Conflicts over Social Statistics | p. 128 |
6 Thinking About Social Statistics: The Critical Approach | p. 160 |
Notes | p. 173 |
Index | p. 187 |