Damned Lies and Statistics : Untangling Numbers From the Media, Politicians, and Activists

Here, By Popular Demand, Is The Updated Edition To Joel Best's Classic Guide To Understanding How Numbers Can Confuse Us. In His New Afterword, Best Uses Examples From Recent Policy Debates To Reflect On The Challenges To Improving Statistical Literacy. Since Its Publication Ten Years Ago, Damned Lies And Statistics Has Emerged As The Go-to Handbook For Spotting Bad Statistics And Learning To Think Critically About These Influential Numbers.--book Jacket. Introduction : The Worst Social Statistic Ever -- The Importance Of Social Statistics -- Soft Facts : Sources Of Bad Statistics -- Mutant Statistics : Methods For Mangling Numbers -- Apples And Oranges : Inappropriate Comparisons -- Stat Wars : Conflicts Over Social Statistics -- Thinking About Social Statistics : The Critical Approach. Joel Best. Previous Ed.: 2001. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Frontmatter Acknowledgments (page ix) Preface (page xi) Introduction: The Worst Social Statistic Ever (page 1) 1. The Importance of Social Statistics (page 9) 2. Soft Facts: Sources of Bad Statistics (page 30) 3. Mutant Statistics: Methods for Mangling Numbers (page 62) 4. Apples and Oranges: Inappropriate Comparisons (page 96) 5. Stat Wars: Conflicts over Social Statistics (page 128) 6. Thinking About Social Statistics: The Critical Approach (page 160) Afteword (page 173) Notes (page 187) Index (page 203) Here, by popular demand, is the updated edition to Joel Best's classic guide to understanding how numbers can confuse us. In his new afterword, Best uses examples from recent policy debates to reflect on the challenges to improving statistical literacy. Since its publication ten years ago, Damned Lies and Statistics has emerged as the go-to handbook for spotting bad statistics and learning to think critically about these influential numbers. Nineteenth-century Americans worried about prostitution; reformers called it "the social evil" and warned that many women prostituted themselves.