Misused Statistics / Edition 2

by Herbert Spirer, Louise Spirer

Overview

"Revised and updated edition of a standard in the field. Alerts readers to the problems, inherent in statistical practice-illustrating the types of misused statistics with well-documented, real-world examples, nearly half new to this edition, drawn from a wide range of areas, including the media, public policy, polls and surveys, political elections and debates, advertising, science and health care, and business and economics."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780367400392
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	09/05/2019
Edition description:	2nd ed.
Pages:	280
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Spirer, Herbert; Spirer, Louise

Table of Contents

Setting the stage; categories of misuses; know the subject matter; definitions; quality of basic data; graphics and presentation; methodology - a brief review; faulty interpretation; surveys and polls - getting the data; surveys and polls -analyzing the data; the law of parsimony - Ockham's razor; thinking - lack of forethought, lack of afterthought; ectoplastics; the body politic - governments and polititions; afterword.

Editorial Reviews

The first edition of the book became very popular. The authors updated the examples and added many new ones, so that more than 50% of the second edition is new or revised material. The book can be recommended to readers who do not want to be cheated by misused statistics, as well as to research who wish to publish results of their statistical analysis correctly. The fresh style of the book makes it suitable as a supplement to classical statistical book.

European Mathematical Society Newsletter

...the second edition updates much of the earlier material with contemporary examples and includes new misuses that have appeared in the interim.

ISI Short Book Reviews

impressive. The examples used...are impressive in their clarity and variety. The cumulative effect is a compelling demonstration that the use and misuse of statistics are more widespread and influential in our culture that one might suppose.

American Journal of Physical Anthropology

delightful. ...extremely useful: delightful, with lots of everyday examples from media, politicians, elected or appointed officials.

American Journal of Economics and Sociology

Outstanding reviews for a classic work that has gone into multiple printings!... superb. ...this book succeeds in what it sets out to do....Its strongest features are the multitude of superb examples, the excellent chapter summaries, the engaging writing style, and the consistent presentation of material at an appropriate level for general readers.

Journal of the American Statistical Association

well-written. ...a well-written book emphasizing understanding and reasoning.

Technometrics

informative. ...informative and entertaining...an excellent resource.

Contemporary Sociology

New edition of a book intended as an adjunct to statistical textbooks. The authors examine the categories of misuse, the importance of knowing the subject matter that is being statistically analyzed, faulty interpretation, the principle of parsimony, ectoplastistics, and political misuses of statistics and polling data. Information is presented at a level accessible to non-professionals. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews