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Introduction To The Practice Of Statistics, Fourth Edition. The seven deadly statistical sins. Lmost everybody knows pollution is getting worse, few whites are missed in census counts, and the federal budget is in balance.

The seven deadly statistical sins

Unfortunately, almost everybody is wrong. None of these things is true, at least not exactly. If that weren't bad enough, many people in power are either among the ill-informed, or have a tendency to cloak political decisions in scientific garb to make their point. Statistical sins differ from data that are incomplete or inaccurate or simply faked outright. The federal budget "surplus," to take one example, becomes a huge deficit when contributions to the Social Security trust fund are removed. Let us count the ways... Sin the first: Non-response bias, or the non-representative sample. Paul Cameron, a former University of Nebraska assistant professor who now heads a group called the Family Research Institute, claims that gay men have It is easy to test Cameron's assertion. How much surveying is enough? Political campaign polling suffers from the same problem. Episode Guide. The Black Eyed Kids.

Episode Guide

A Simple Challenge to Homeopaths. Homeopaths are feeling under threat at the moment and are scrambling around wondering what to do about it.

A Simple Challenge to Homeopaths

I think there are a number of things they could do: most importantly, they should better manage their own business by showing that they respect the boundaries of what they can reasonably assume is good practice, e.g. stop the dangerous nonsense of believing that they can do anything about dangerous conditions such as malaria and AIDS; they can be much more complementary and less alternative.

But there is something else that they can do too: start showing a desire to develop a base of data that can be relied upon, and respected, to support their methods. The focus to-date has been on clinical trials. Doubters say that trials show no evidence of efficacy. Supporters point to many positive trials. So, let’s take a step back.

Here is a rough outline of the sort of test I would like to see done… Pretty simple stuff. Would a trial like this convince me? What is to stop you? Skeptoid: Critical Analysis Podcast. The Straight Dope - Fighting Ignorance Since 1973. All the Junk That's Fit to Debunk. Anti-Quackery Ring. Social Research - Social Trends Analysis. Number watch. Any reader who feels inspired to make a modest donation towards keeping this show on the road can do so via the Paypal button below.

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The opinions in these pages are solely those of the author, at whose expense they are created and maintained. No payment is accepted from any organisation, commercial or otherwise, though any modest unconditional contributions to the costs will not be spurned. Copyright is reserved for all original material, but permission for non-commercial reproduction is freely given. Relevant books to be considered for review are welcome. Revision (August 2006) After six years of maintenance of this site with the aid of just a few occasional voluntary donations, changes of circumstance (and particularly taxation) mean that Number Watch cannot continue an independent existence without more regular external support. STATS: We Check Out the Numbers Behind the News. How does the Queen answer the phone? A Staff Report from the Straight Dope Science Advisory Board October 30, 2012 Dear Straight Dope: A friend and I once tried to figure out how Queen Elizabeth II answers her phone.

How does the Queen answer the phone?

Now, obviously, someone else answers it first and they patch the caller through to Her Majesty if appropriate. But! — Kimmy_Gibbler SDSTAFF Elendil’s Heir replies: You’d hardly expect her to say “This is Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and of my other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith speaking” every time she picks up, would you? Instead, as you might expect, the Queen (now celebrating her 60th year on the British throne) answers the telephone in different ways at different times. Or thinks she does, at least. In 1958, the Queen made the first British long-distance telephone call without the assistance of an operator. A bit formal, but appropriate for the occasion. Ouch. . — SDSTAFF Elendil’s Heir. Internet Glossary of Statistical Terms by Dr. Howard S. Hoffman.