Statistics And The Media

Statistics and the Media: Foundations in Statistical Thinking through Media Examples uses real-world examples from various media to give students an introduction to fundamentals of statistical thinking. Unlike many standard texts in the discipline, the book focuses on conceptual understanding - the meaning behind mathematical calculations rather than the calculations themselves. Written in accessible language, Statistics and the Media begins by discussing the importance of learning how research is conducted and the way research results, on any topic, are presented by the media. This understanding creates an essential context for subsequent chapters on surveys and polling, variation in measurement data, understanding probability, hypothesis testing, linear regression, and more. Students also learn how statistics can be manipulated by researchers to provide a desired result. An ideal supplement to any primary statistics text, Statistics and the Media helps readers view statistics as a common-sense, observational, fact-based way of thinking about the world. The book can be used in any course that deals with introductory statistics, particularly those in the social sciences, business, finance, and economics.

Uses real-world examples from various media to give students an introduction to fundamentals of statistical thinking. Unlike many standard texts in the discipline, the book focuses on conceptual understanding - the meaning behind mathematical calculations rather than the calculations themselves.

Here, by popular demand, is the updated edition to Joel Best's classic guide to understanding how numbers can confuse us. In his new afterword, Best uses examples from recent policy debates to reflect on the challenges to improving statistical literacy. Since its publication ten years ago, Damned Lies and Statistics has emerged as the go-to handbook for spotting bad statistics and learning to think critically about these influential numbers.

Statistical Thinking through Media Examples uses real-world examples from various media to give students an introduction to fundamentals of statistical thinking. Unlike many standard texts in the discipline, the book focuses on conceptual understanding - the meaning behind mathematical calculations rather than the calculations themselves. Written in accessible language, the book begins by discussing the importance of learning how to assess the quality of research results presented by the media. This understanding creates an essential context for subsequent chapters on questioning study design including polls and surveys, reasoning with variation in data measurements, understanding probability, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, and linear regression. Students also learn how statistics can be misused and manipulated by researchers to provide a desired result. The second edition features new coverage of select topics, including ANOVA, Chi-Square tests, and multiple linear regression. Every chapter references online resources or includes in-depth discussion to draw connections between statistical concepts and media examples, such as studies on alcohol consumption and cardiovascular health, American football and brain injury, public mass shootings, dishonesty in scientific research, and more. Statistical Thinking through Media Examples is an ideal resource for any course that deals with introductory statistics, particularly those in the health and social sciences, journalism, and business. Anthony Donoghue earned his master's degree in statistics at University College Dublin and has worked as a professional statistician in both Ireland and the United States. Currently, he works as a consultant in New York, providing statistics and programming expertise and training. He is also a statistics faculty member at both Columbia University and New York University, where he teaches statistical computing, statistics, and statistical thinking.

From the quality of the air we breathe to the national leaders we choose, data and statistics are a pervasive feature of daily life and daily news. But how do news, numbers and public opinion interact with each other ? and with what impacts on society at large? Featuring an international roster of established and emerging scholars, this book is the first comprehensive collection of research into the little understood processes underpinning the uses/misuses of statistical information in journalism and their socio-psychological and political effects. Moving beyond the hype around ?data journalism," News, Numbers and Public Opinion delves into a range of more latent, fundamental questions such as: � Is it true that most citizens and journalists do not have the necessary skills and resources to critically process and assess numbers? � How do/should journalists make sense of the increasingly data-driven world? � What strategies, formats and frames do journalists use to gather and represent different types of statistical data in their stories? � What are the socio-psychological and political effects of such data gathering and representation routines, formats and frames on the way people acquire knowledge and form attitudes? � What skills and resources do journalists and publics need to deal effectively with the influx of numbers into in daily work and life ? and how can newsrooms and journalism schools meet that need? The book is a must-read for not only journalists, journalism and media scholars, statisticians and data scientists but also anybody interested in the interplay between journalism, statistics and society.

Audience and media analytics is more important now than ever, and this latest volume in the cutting-edge BEA Electronic Media Research Series collects some of the top scholars working with big data and analytics today. These chapters describe the development and help define media analytics as an academic discipline and professional practice. Understanding audiences is integral to creating and distributing media messages and the study of media analytics requires knowing a range of skills including research methods, the necessary tools available, familiarity with statistical procedures, and a mindset to provide insights and apply findings. This book summarizes the insights of analytics practitioners regarding the current state of legacy media analysis and social media analytics. Topics covered include the evolution of media technologies, the teaching of media measurement and analytics, the transition taking place in media research, and the use of media analytics to answer meaningful questions, drive content creation, and engage with audiences.

This book looks at how numbers and statistics have been used to underpin quality in news reporting. In doing so, the aim is to challenge some common assumptions about how journalists engage and use statistics in their quest for quality news. It seeks to improve our understanding about the usage of data and statistics as a primary means for the construction of social reality. This is a task, in our view, that is urgent in times of ‘post-truth’ politics and the rise of ‘fake news’. In this sense, the quest to produce ‘quality’ news, which seems to require incorporating statistics and engaging with data, as laudable and straightforward as it sounds, is instead far more problematic and complex than what is often accounted for.

Working With Numbers and Statistics: A Handbook for Journalists will bolster math skills and improve math confidence for journalists at all skill levels. Authors Charles Livingston and Paul Voakes developed this resource book to improve journalistic writing and reporting, enabling journalists to: *make accurate, reliable computations, which in turn enables one to make relevant comparisons, put facts into perspective, and lend important context to stories; *recognize inaccurate presentations, whether willfully spun or just carelessly relayed; *ask appropriate questions about numerical matters; *translate complicated numbers for viewers and readers in ways they can readily understand; *understand computer-assisted reporting; and *write livelier, more precise pieces through the use of numbers. The math is presented in a journalistic context throughout, enabling readers to see how the procedures will come into play in their work. Working With Numbers and Statistics is designed as a reference work for journalism students developing their writing and reporting skills. It will also serve professionals as a useful tool to improve their understanding and use of numbers in news stories.