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Mastering Statistics: Importance of Critical Thinking Skills

Learn to avoid abuses of statistics such as bad samples, small samples, loaded questions, and misleading graphs. Develop critical thinking through real-life examples and understand correlation vs. causality.

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Mastering Statistics: Importance of Critical Thinking Skills

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  1. Section 1-4 Critical Thinking

  2. A QUOTE FROM THE TEXT “Success in the introductory statistics course typically requires more common sense than mathematical expertise. . . . Because we now have access to calculators and computers, modern applications of statistics no longer require us to master complex algorithms of mathematical manipulations. Instead, we can focus on interpretation of data and results.” This requires critical thinking skills.

  3. ABUSES OF STATISTICS • Bad Samples • Small Samples • Loaded Questions • Order of Questions • Misleading graphs and pictographs • Percentages

  4. BAD SAMPLES Voluntary Response Sample (or Self-Selected Sample): a sample in which the respondents themselves decide whether to be included. For example, call in television and radio polls. EXAMPLE: Asking Emory University students which brand of soft drink they prefer.

  5. SMALL SAMPLES EXAMPLE: Two-thirds of students were suspended more than three times. What was not disclosed was that only 3 students were in the sample!

  6. QUESTIONS Loaded Questions EXAMPLE: Don’t you think that changing the HOPE scholarship program is unfair? • Order of Questions • EXAMPLE: • Would you say that traffic contributes more or less to air pollution than industry? • Would you say that industry contributes more or less to air pollution than traffic?

  7. MISLEADING GRAPHS $40,500 $40,500 $40,000 $40,000 30,000 35,000 $24,400 30,000 20,000 $24,400 25,000 10,000 20,000 0 Bachelor High School Degree Diploma Bachelor High School Degree Diploma (b) (a) Salaries of People with Bachelor’s Degrees and with High School Diplomas

  8. PICTOGRAPHS Double the length, width, and height of a cube, and the volume increases by a factor of eight.

  9. PERCENTAGES Remember a 100% increase in a quantity means that it has doubled. EXAMPLE: Suppose you are considering purchasing an item that originally cost $100. Store A reduced the price by 5% last week and has reduced it by 5% again this week. Store B has reduced the price by 10% this week. Which store has the better deal?

  10. CORRELATION AND CAUSALITY Just because there is an association between to variables (correlation) DO NOT concluded that one variable caused the other to occur (causality). EXAMPLE: A study showed that truck drivers weigh more than adults who do not drive trucks. Conclusion: Trucks cause people to gain weight.

  11. SELF-INTEREST STUDY A self-interest study is a study which is sponsored by parties with an interest to promote. EXAMPLE: Texas Instruments does a study and concludes that students prefer to use graphing calculators over computer software for mathematics classes.

  12. PARTIAL PICTURES A partial picture is where all the information is not presented. EXAMPLE: “Ninety percent of all our cars sold in this country in the last 10 years are still on the road.” It was not disclosed that 90% of cars the advertiser sold were sold actually sold in the last three years.

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