Identify one use of statistics in the news (TV, radio, newspaper, internet – two good suggestions are the site above or NPR.org). Discuss whether you believe this use of statistics is appropriate or not. Be sure to fully address each question below and label each of your answers (e.g., 1, 2, 3, etc.).
1. Give complete reference or url for the story (does not have to be APA format)
2. Explain the idea behind the report. What were the authors looking to study? What questions were the authors trying to answer? (4 sentence minimum)
3. What was the study trying to measure? Try to identify both the proposed cause and the effect. (4 sentence minimum)
4. What conclusions did the media report come to? Do you believe that the conclusions follow from the information given? (4 sentence minimum)
5. Do you consider this a good or bad use of statistics? Here I’d like you to go back to the PowerPoint from last week and use at least two of the points brought up in the lecture that must be considered when evaluating the use of statistics. (5 sentence minimum)
6. What additional information would you have liked to have had (you need to list at least one additional variable, measure or piece of information that you would have liked to have seen included)? (4 sentence minimum)
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