Articles

Statistics in the Newspapers

Statistics are pervasive in our society. H.G. Wells foresaw the essential role of math and statistics a century ago. He wrote, "The great body of physical, ... financial science, and endless social and political problems are only accessible and only thinkable to those who have had a sound training in mathematical analysis, and the time may not be very remote when it will be understood that ... it is as necessary to be able to compute, to think in averages and maxima and minima, as it is now to be able to read and write." (Mankind in the Making, p. 192, Scribner's, New York, 1904)

Your assignment is to find newspaper articles related to five specific statistical topics, and to submit them with an interpretive report. The articles must be from actual newspapers, not online versions.

For each article, include

the actual article or a photocopy and,
on one page,
- a complete reference for the article: name of newspaper, date, page number(s)
- a specification of the statistical topic (from below)
- your typed report, giving an explanation and critique of the statistics used.

You should find one article for each topic listed here:

Numerical summaries: measures of center (mean or average, median) or spread (standard deviation, IQR, range) or percentiles, quartiles, etc. Interpret the numerical summary or summaries in the context of the article. Tell whether you think the measure used is appropriate for the given situation, and why.
Graphical summary or summaries of data. Interpret the graphical depiction used in the article in its context. Is the type of graph chosen an appropriate one? Why? Would another type of graph be better? Are there any potentially misleading features of the graphical display? Does the graph depict the distribution of one variable, or a relationship between variables?
Poll. Describe the sampling method and the use of randomness. Interpret the margin of error in the given context. Discuss the appropriateness of the sample size (too large, about right, too small). Discuss the wording of the of the question(s) asked in the poll, pointing out any ambiguities or biases that may affect the responses.
An observational study. Explain why the study is observational. Identify the individuals and the variables, including the type of variable (categorical or quantitative [and perhaps whether it is in an ordinal, interval, or ratio scale]) and the units of measurement. Why, in your view, was the study conducted observationally rather than experimentally?
An experimental study. Explain why the study is experimental. Identify the experimental units, the explanatory variable(s), and the response variable(s). How were subjects assigned to treatments?

You may also wish to critique the adequacy of the reporting in the article. What should the writer have told the intelligent reader that was omitted?

Please spread your work on this assignment over the next four to seven weeks, turning in your reports on Tuesdays as you complete them. If you do one a week, you will be done on April 15 (the IRS deadline). If you take a little longer, you should in any case have all your reports completed by Tuesday, April 29.