If you really want to make a shocking statement, make sure you only include part of the data. This article provides guidance on best practices for detecting health misinformation and assessing the accuracy of different information sources. A more helpful way to look at this is the NNT (Number needed to treat, defined in statistics using the formula 100/%reduction). Each is likely a result of a third factor, that being: an increased population, due to the high tourism season in the month of June. In an undergraduate-level context, it is fairly common to reason about side-by-side histograms, or to create them, in statistics courses or quantitative reasoning courses. In 2006, The Times, a popular UK newspaper, printed a story about how they were the leading paper both online and in print in the UK. On August 6, Steven Strogratz posted the following plot on Twitter (see Figure 2), which was a recreation of the plot produced by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment with the right side vertical scale removed and both categories of data appropriately placed on the same scale. This presents opportunities for statistics educators and statistics teacher educators to reflect on these (mis)representations and leverage them as teaching and learning opportunities to build statistical literacy. To get this trip started, let's look at a fallacious statistics definition. Consider the following steps to determine if information is accurate: For more information on common types of health misinformation sources, check out our Health Misinformation Community Toolkit. Statistics is regularly used by urban planners to decide how many apartments, shops, stores, etc. A study of millions of journal articles shows that their authors are increasingly reporting p-values but are often doing so in a misleading way, according to a study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.P-values are a measure of statistical significance intended to inform scientific conclusions. To learn about our use of cookies and how you can manage your cookie settings, please see our Cookie Policy. And over the years, tobacco. The birth rate for . Nutrition studies have a particularly bad reputation in the news. Global Warming out of Control! Using the wrong graph. Examples of misuse of statistics in the media are very common. You can be the judge. Is the language being used objective and formal? Cherry picking data. 19 Most Misleading Statistics (That Are Technically Correct) By: Cracked Plasticians April 20, 2016 Advertisement When the math adds up, the numbers never lie. Now that weve put the misuse of statistics in context, lets look at various digital age examples of statistics that are misleading across five distinct, but related, spectrums: media and politics, news, advertising, science, and healthcare. In 2012, the global mean temperature was measured at 58.2 degrees. Likewise, in order to ensure you keep a certain distance to the studies and surveys you read, remember the questions to ask yourself - who researched and why, who paid for it, and what was the sample. Much like abortion, global warming is another politically charged topic that is likely to arouse emotions. An official website of the It is fixed". The top 10 most-shared articles that were reviewed by clinicians and scientists for accuracy were: It becomes hard to believe any analysis! For this last question, it would be important to make sure students are not merely concluding mask mandates lead to higher case rates than not having them. Although researchers have decried the need for statistical literacy among students and society for decades (Wallman Citation1993; Gal Citation2002; Bargagliotti etal. Looking for U.S. government information and services? Let's check those mistakes. Making this a clear example of how the time period that we chose to portray can significantly change the way people will perceive the information. This is an absolute reduction of 1.2% over 4 years, or 0.3% annually. During one of Fow News broadcasts, anchor Tucker Carlson displayed a graph saying that the number of Americans identifying as Christians had collapsed over the last decade. Independent university study group, lab-affiliated research team, consulting company? Statistical reliability is crucial in order to ensure the precision and validity of the analysis. In this article, we showcase examples of how data related to the COVID-19 pandemic has been (mis)represented in the media and by governmental agencies and discuss plausible reasons why it has been (mis)represented. Learn how to identify and avoid sharing health misinformation. The number of people aged 60 years or older will rise from 900 million to 2 billion between 2015 and 2050 (moving from 12% to 22% of the total global population). Fig. Misleading pie chart 4. As one out of twenty will inevitably be deemed significant without any direct correlation, studies can be manipulated (with enough data) to prove a correlation that does not exist or that is not significant enough to prove causation. The next of our most common examples for misuse of statistics and misleading data is, perhaps, the most serious. This is not to say that there is no proper use of data mining, as it can in fact lead to surprise outliers and interesting analyses. You will end up with a statistical error called selective bias. As mentioned at the beginning of this article, it has been shown that a third of the scientists admitted that they had questionable research practices, including withholding analytical details and modifying results! Using the wrong graph 7. However, closer inspection reveals that the dates along the horizontal axis are not in order of time, with, for instance, May 1 appearing before April 30 and April 26 appearing in between May 7 (on the left) and May 3 (on the right). This is one of the many controversial examples of misleading COVID statistics that illustrates the authorities' responsibility to inform their audience accurately. The selective bias is slightly more discreet for those who do not read the small lines. Survival Rates in Cancer Survival rates are often used as a measure of cancer treatment success. Television is not the only media platform that can provide examples of bad statistics in the news. Christopher Engledowl & Travis Weiland wrote an insightful article called Data (Mis)representation and COVID-19: Leveraging Misleading Data Visualizations For Developing Statistical Literacy Across Grades 616. Misleading statistics refers to the misuse of numerical data either intentionally or by error. In the digital age, these capabilities are only further enhanced and harnessed through the implementation of advanced technology and business intelligence software. Home Uncategorized examples of misleading statistics in healthcare. Recently, Kellogg's UK was hit with a ban from the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) after making false health claims in its advert for Special K cereal. Overloading readers with data 9. Many would falsely assume, yes, solely based on the strength of the correlation. Misleading Graphs: Incomplete Data. In May 2020, around 5 months after COVID-19 started spreading around the world, the US Georgia Department of Public Health posted a chart that aimed at showing the top 5 counties that had the highest COVID-19 cases in the past 15 days and the number of cases over time. Drinking tea increases diabetes by 50%, and baldness raises the cardiovascular disease risk up to 70%! Businesses and analysts are exposed to making biases when a single person is doing an entire analysis. When the Georgia Department of Public Health posted this plot (see Figure 3), it went viral because of what may have been intentional data manipulation. What if the measured variables were different? It usually falls down on the sample of people surveyed. Seeking a relationship between data isnt a misuse per se, however, doing so without a hypothesis is. These studies are very soon contradicted by other important or outlandish findings. Misleading Data Visualization Examples 1. The graph was later republished with organized dates and counties. What would your conclusion be about the importance of a mask mandate? The pandemic of the novel coronavirus has gripped the entire world and engaged people in consuming scientific informationperhaps more so than any other event in history. Sometimes, it is better to just make a simple bar or even a table with a couple of columns so that something like this won't happen. Here is a guide from the CDC on the myths and facts about COVID-19 vaccination. First, although there was an obvious decline, the word rapid is not as justifiableit is certainly less pronounced. Broad dissemination and consumption of false or misleading health information, amplified by the internet, poses risks to public health and problems for both the health care enterprise and the government. Some misleading online posts are difficult to spot because they contain both good and bad medical advice. This can lead to poor decision-making due to misinformation. Whether for market intelligence, customer experience, or business reporting, the future of data is now. Developed in collaboration with the Office of Evaluation Sciences (OES). Proactively engage with patients and the public on health misinformation, Use technology and media platforms to share accurate health information with the public. Average monthly temperature in New Haven, CT. Partner with community groups and other local organizations to prevent and address health misinformation. Furthermore, an essential discussion should center around why specific locations may have had a mask mandate versus why others may not have, and to focus attention on the change over time within each grouprather than comparing between the groups. Statistics can tell us about trends that are. Evaluate the effectiveness of strategies and policies to prevent and address health misinformation. Ioannidis JP. Certain industries tend to have more issues with misleading claims. This video can be used for educational and training purposes. (, Comparing Box plot Distributions: A Teachers Reasoning, Enhancing Statistical Literacy: Enriching Our Society, Journal of Statistics and Data Science Education. Studies foster informed decision-making, sound judgments, and actions carried out on the weight of evidence, not assumptions. The results provide deceiving information that creates false narratives around a topic. We all need access to trusted sources of information to stay safe and healthy. Yet, as we learned from the Argentinian graph, looks can deceive. Misuse of statistics often happens in advertisements, politics, news, media, and others. Use this checklist everytime you come across health-related content you are not sure about. Together, we have the power to build a healthier information environment. We can all benefit from taking steps to improve the quality of health information we consume. Another common misuse of statistics is strategically picking the time period to show a result. Our guide included some misleading examples and illustrations of data, several of which come from the Reddit thread for misleading visual statistics. (labels are clear, axes begin at 0, right chart type, etc) Is the research represented honestly and in an impartial manner? Cherry Picking 2. Just like other industries or areas that we will cover on this list of examples, the healthcare industry is not free of the misuse of statistics. Coca-Cola falsely claimed its Vitaminwater products could promote healthy joints, reduce the risk of eye disease, and have other health benefits. Image: Yale University What's wrong with this picture? If you see this graph, you would obviously think the UKs national debt is higher than ever. to the .gov website. This trailer video introduces the Surgeon Generals Confronting Health Misinformation advisory and why it matters. While it is quite clear that statistical data has the potential to be misused, it can also ethically drive market value in the digital world. This (mis)representation led to exaggerated claims about changes in cases, which was immediately evident when it was reported that Kansas counties that have mask mandates in place have seen a rapid drop in cases, while counties that only recommend their use have seen no decrease in cases, the states top health official said Wednesday (Hegeman Citation2020, August 5, emphasis added).

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