LibGuides: Statistics: Statistics

Introduction

A famous quote often attributed to both Benjamin Disraeli and Mark Twain goes: “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” While statistics can be used to support poor arguments, misguided perspectives or unethical agendas, they help us understand data and make informed decisions. (In other words, numbers don’t lie—but people can.)

Statistics are important in almost all fields: math, psychology, science, business, government, social sciences, journalism, and the list goes on. Any area of study that involves research or collecting and analyzing data is using statistics.

Notable Statisticians

Notes on Nightingale
"Although Florence Nightingale is rightly acknowledged and highly venerated for her role in reforming nursing in the mid-nineteenth century, she clearly deserves more recognition than she has received for revolutionizing nursing through her use of statistics. She brought about fundamental changes through her dedication to her many prodigious statistical reports on standardizing hospital statistics and by implementing the use of medical statistics in the nursing profession. This investigative work led to a decline in the many preventable deaths that occurred throughout the nineteenth century in English military and civilian hospitals."

William Playfair (1759-1823) is credited with the invention of line charts, bar charts, and pie charts. His works, The Commercial and Political Atlas and The Statistical Breviary were the first published comparisons of statistical information from different countries. Below is a pie chart from the Statistical Breviary, representing the land and population of the Turkish Empire.

Florence Nightingale David (1909-1993) was named after Florence Nightingale, who was a friend of her parents. During World War II, David worked for the English government, developing statistical models that predicted the damaging effects of bombing on densely populated areas. After the war, she became a professor of statistics and eventually relocated to California where she later headed the Statistics department of University of California, Riverside.

John Snow (1813-1858) was an English physician who was skeptical about the then current belief that cholera and other diseases were caused by “bad air.” He used statistical methods to determine that the origin point of a cholera epidemic in London was a specific public water pump that delivered sewage contaminated water. He presented his evidence to the city leaders, who disabled the pump, thus ending the epidemic. He is regarded as a founder of epidemiology.

What is Statistics?

What is statistics? This video tells us that there are two definitions: the field of statistics is the study and practice of collecting data. The statistics themselves are facts and summaries of data. Further covered here are the two types of statistics that are used to answer questions. These are Descriptive Statistics, which describe what is shown in data, and Inferential Statistics, which are used to make conclusions that go beyond that data. The final point is that when working with statistics, we must realize that they are tools to help reduce uncertainty, but they cannot eliminate it.

What is Statistical Literacy?

This video defines statistical literacy as the ability to understand, interpret, and critically evaluate statistical information. It goes on to explain how important it is to be able to distinguish between genuine, statistically supported evidence and things like marketing claims. Statistical literacy is an important skill to have in making everyday decisions.

Data and Infographics

This video introduces the idea of using lateral reading to understand statistical claims in media. This involves investigating the credibility of source of the statistics, and whether they are being deceptive in presenting information to promote a specific point of view or agenda.