Part 1:
URL: https://speakingofresearch.com/2013/01/23/nine-out-of-ten-statistics-are-taken-out-of-context/
Questions:
1, Are you surprised by anything that is said on this website?
- Why do you think many people are so quick to believe reported statistics?
- Give some examples of instances where you often see statistics taken out of context. (search the Internet for other examples and explain why you think they are out of context).
Part 2:
URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/04/opinion/sunday/nicholas-kristof-a-new-way-to-tackle-gun-deaths.html?_r=1
Quote: “In America, more preschoolers are shot dead each year (82 in 2013) than police officers are in the line of duty (27 in 2013), according to figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the FBI”
Questions:
- Point out as many possible flaws with this statement.
Think of the ways you would lie with statistics to further an agenda. Now keep in mind, for the sake of this assignment, the numbers reported are correct, but that does not mean they represent the whole picture or that the quote is meaningful in a way beyond comparing two numbers.
Sample Solution
