2. People often use statistics to attempt to persuade you to their point of view. Purchase? Support? Action?

3. One of the most common misuses of statistics Definition: Biased Sample A sample that does not represent the intended population and can lead to distorted findings. Can be intentional or unintentional

4. Hand out survey form only at golf courses Design the survey: We would like to propose a national golf holiday, on which everybody gets the day off from work and plays golf all day. (This means you miss school or work, and don’t need permission from anyone.) Are you in favor of this proposal? A) Yes, most definitely B) Sure, why not? C) No, I would rather spend the entire day at school or work.

5. Sampling bias Question wording

6. Ask yourself: Sodas per capita in the US? Thousands of gallons of soda? Millions of cans? 1996199719981999 121136134140

7. Better…. 1996199719981999 121136134140

10. Internet polls: You choose whether or not to participate Television “phone-in” (WBKO) Strong feelings, for or against Missing anyone?

11. Sampling bias Question wording Deceptive graphs Self-selected surveys

12. Statistics is a vital tool that provides organizations with the necessary information to make good decisions.

13. The field of statistics evolved from the early work of European mathematicians during the 17 th century.

14. Descriptive statistics focuses on the summary or display of data so we can quickly obtain an overview.

15. Inferential statistics allows us to make claims or conclusions about a population based on a sample of data from that population.

16. We are all consumers of statistics and need to be aware of the potential misuses that can occur in this field.