Stat-spotting: A field guide to identifying dubious data

Stat-Spotting: A Field Guide to Identifying Dubious Data

Volumn , Issue , 2008, Pages

  Best, Joel ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 70349297549     PISSN: None     EISSN: None     Source Type: Book    
DOI: None     Document Type: Book

References (90)

1. David Cay Johnston, "New Rise in the Number of Millionaire Families," New York Times, March 28, 2006.
2. Frank Ahrens, "The Super-Rich Get Richer," Washington Post, September 22, 2006.
3. Joel Best, Damned Lies and Statistics: Untangling Numbers from the Media, Politicians, and Activists (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001);
4. More Damned Lies and Statistics: How Numbers Confuse Public Issues (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004).
5. Brady E. Hamilton, Joyce A. Martin, Stephanie J. Ventura, Paul D. Sutton, and Fay Menacker, "Births: Preliminary Data for 2004," National Vital Statistics Reports 54, no. 8 (December 29, 2005).
6. Arialdi M. Miniño, Melonie Heron, Sherry L. Murphy, and Kenneth D. Kochanek, "Deaths: Final Data for 2004.
7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Cases of HIV Infection and AIDS in the United States, 2004, vol. 16 of HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report, 2004 (Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2005).
8. U.S. Census Bureau, "Minority Population Tops 100 Million," news release, May 17, 2007, www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/010048.html.
9. The Statistical Abstract is available at www.census.gov/compendia/statab.
10. "Domestic Violence: When Love Becomes Hurtful!" Black Women's Health Web site, http://blackwomenshealth.com/2006/articles.php?id=35.
11. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime in the United States, 2005, www.fbi.gov/ucr/05cius.
12. Adam Cohen, "Battle of the Binge," Time, September 8, 1997, 54-56.
13. Anne Fausto-Sterling, Sexing the Body: Gender Politics and the Construction of Sexuality (New York: Basic Books, 2000), 51.
14. Press for Change, www.pfc.org.uk.
15. Leonard Sax, "How Common Is Intersex?" Journal of Sex Research 39 (2002): 174-78.
16. Cary Castagna, "Minister Mangles Suicide Sermon," Edmonton Sun, October 21, 2006.
17. John Allen Paulos, Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences (New York: Random House, 1988).
18. Hillel Italie, "Potter Magic: Book Breaks Sales Records," As-so ciated Press, July 22, 2007, www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/07/22/ap3939011.html.
19. K. D. Kochanek, S. L. Murphy, R. N. Anderson, and C. Scott, "Deaths: Final Data for 2002," National Vital Statistics Reports 53, no. 5 (Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics, 2004).
20. British Heart Foundation, "BHF Comments on Smoke Free Legislation in Scotland," press release, March 24, 2006, http://web.archive.org/web/20060326232034/www.bhf.org.uk/news/index.asp?secID=16&secondlevel=241&thirdlevel=1835.
21. "Smoking Ban to Clear the Air for Healthier Lives in Scotland," This Is North Scotland, March 3, 2006, www.thisisnorthscotland.co.uk.
22. Naomi B. Robbins, Creating More Effective Graphs (New York: Wiley, 2005).
23. Party, Play-and Pay: Multiple Partners, Unprotected Sex, and Crystal Meth," Newsweek, February 28, 2005, 36-39.
24. Eric Nagourney, "Sales Estimates Paint Portraits of Alcohol Abusers," New York Times, May 2, 2006.
25. Rebecca Goldin, "Another Crazy Columbia Alcohol Study," STATS.org, revised January 15, 2007, www.stats.org/stories/another_crazy_columbia_may08_06.htm.
26. A Major Risk Factor for Birds: Building Collisions," All Things Considered, National Public Radio, March 11, 2005.
27. R. C. Banks, "Human Related Mortality of Birds in the United States,"U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Special Scientific Report, Wildlife No. 215, 1979.
28. Daniel Klem Jr., "Collisions Between Birds and Windows: Morality and Prevention," Journal of Field Ornithology 61 (1990): 120-28.
29. Chipper Woods Bird Observatory, "Modern Threats to Bird Populations," www.wbu.com/chipperwoods/photos/threats.
30. American Veterinary Medical Association, U.S. Pet Ownership & Demographics Sourcebook (Schaumburg, IL: AVMA, 2002).
31. E. L. Quarantelli, "Statistical and Conceptual Problems in the Study of Disasters," Disaster Prevention and Management 10 (2001): 325-38;
32. Deborah S.K. Thomas, "Data, Data Everywhere, But Can We Really Use Them?" in American Hazardscapes: The Regionalization of Hazards and Disasters, ed. Susan L. Cutter, 61- 76 (Washington, DC: Joseph Henry Press, 2001).
33. Suzanne Herel, "1906 Quakes Toll Disputed: Supervisors Asked to Recognize Higher Number Who Perished," San Francisco Chronicle, January 15, 2006, www.sfgate.com.
34. Denise Gess and William Lutz, Firestorm at Peshtigo: A Town, Its People, and the Deadliest Fire in American History (New York: Holt, 2002);
35. Erik Larson, Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History (New York: Crown, 1999);
36. David G. McCullough, The Johnstown Flood (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1986);
37. Edward T. O'Donnell, Ship Ablaze: The Tragedy of the Steamboat General Slocum (New York: Broadway 2003);
38. Gene Eric Salecker,Disaster on the Mississippi: The Sultana Explosion, April 27, 1865 (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1996).
39. Kim Curtis, "Murder: The Leading Cause of Death for Pregnant Women," Associated Press, April 23, 2003;
40. Isabelle L. Horon and Diana Cheng, "Enhanced Sur veil - lance for Pregnancy Associated Mortality-Maryland, 1993- 1998," Journal of the American Medical Association 285 (2001): 1455-59;
41. Jeani Chang, Cynthia J. Berg, Linda E. Saltzman, and Joy Henderson, "Homicide: A Leading Cause of Injury Deaths among Pregnant and Postpartum Women in the United States, 1991-1999," American Journal of Public Health 95 (2005): 471-77.
42. H. Wechsler, A. Davenport, G. Dowdall, B. Moeykens, and S. Castillo, "Health and Behavioral Consequences of Binge Drinking in College: A National Survey of Students at 140 Campuses," Journal of the American Medical Association 272 (1994): 1672-77.
43. Mark Nord, Margaret Andrews, and Steven Carlson, House hold Food Security in the United States, 2005, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Report 29 (November 2006): iv, 9.
44. Brother, Can You Spare a Word?" New York Times, November 20, 2006.
45. J. Whitlock, J. Eckenrode, and D. Silverman, "Self- Injurious Behaviors in a College Population," Pediatrics 117 (2006):
46. Joel Best, Threatened Children: Rhetoric and Concern about Child-Victims (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990).
47. Valerie Jenness and Ryken Grattet, Making Hate a Crime: From Social Movement to Law Enforcement (New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2001).
48. Sally Squires, "Optimal Weight Threshold Lowered: Millions More to Be Termed Overweight," Washington Post, June 4, 1998.
49. J. Eric Oliver, Fat Politics: The Real Story Behind America's Obesity Epidemic (New York: Oxford University Press, 2006).
50. Felicity Barringer, "Fewer Marshes + More Manmade Ponds = Increased Wetlands," New York Times, March 31, 2006.
51. T. E. Dahl, Status and Trends of Wetlands in the Conterminous United States, 1998 to 2004 (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, 2006), 15.
52. Mona Charen, "World of Teen Sex a Loveless Place," Rocky Mountain News, August 10, 1995.
53. Jacqueline E. Darroch, David J. Landry, and Selene Oslak, "Age Differences between Sexual Partners in the United States," Family Planning Perspectives 31 (July 1999): 160-67.
54. "Hidden Grief Costs U.S. Businesses More Than $75 Billion Annually," Business Wire, November 20, 2002.
55. National Association of Counties, The Meth Epidemic in America: The Criminal Effect of Meth on Communities (Washington, DC: NACo, 2006).
56. Ralph A. Weisheit and Jason Fuller, "Methamphetamines in the Heartland," Journal of Crime and Justice 27 (2004): 131-51.
57. Jeanne Allen, "What Americans Really Think of School Choice," Wall Street Journal, September 17, 1996.
58. Jennifer Lee, "Clear Air No More for Millions as Pollution Rule Expands," New York Times, April 13, 2004.
59. Rob Stein, "Obesity Passing Smoking as Top Avoidable Cause of Death," Washington Post, March 10, 2004.
60. Ali H. Mokdad, James S. Marks, Donna F. Stroup, and Julie L. Gerberding, "Actual Causes of Death in the United States, 2000," Journal of the American Medical Association 291 (2004): 1238-45.
61. Katherine M. Flegal, Barry I. Graubard, David F. Wil liam - son, and Mitchell H. Gail, "Excess Deaths Associated with Un-derweight, Overweight, and Obesity," Journal of the American Medical Association 293 (2005): 1861-67.
62. Scott Shane, "Data Suggests Vast Costs Loom in Disability Claims," New York Times, October 11, 2006.
63. Grattan Woodson, The Bird Flu Preparedness Planner (Deer - field Beach, FL: Health Communications, 2005), vii.
64. Mike Davis, The Monster at Our Door: The Global Threat of Avian Flu (New York: New Press, 2005), 126, emphasis in the original.
65. Woodson, Bird Flu Preparedness, 22.
66. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime in the United States, 2005, www.fbi.gov/ucr/05cius.
67. Office of National Drug Control Policy, "Drug Facts: Mari - juana," December 2006, www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/drugfact/marijuana/index.html.
68. National Institute on Drug Abuse, "NIDA InfoFacts: High School and Youth Trends," December 2006, www.nida.nih.gov/infofacts/HSYouthtrends.html.
69. L. D. Johnston, P. M. O'Malley, J.G. Bachman, and J. E. Schulenberg, Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-2006: Volume I, Secondary School Students, NIH Publication No. 07-6205 (Bethesda, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2007), 199-202.
70. Matthew B. Robinson and Renee G. Scherlen, Lies, Damned Lies, and Drug War Statistics: A Critical Analysis of Claims Made by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2007).
71. Sharon Jayson and Anthony DeBarros, "Young Adults Delaying Marriage: Data Show 'Dramatic' Surge in Single Twentysomethings," USA Today, September 12, 2007.
72. U.S. Census Bureau, "American FactFinder" 2006, table B12002, "Sex by Marital Status by Age for the Population 15 Years and Older," http://factfinder.census.gov.
73. A. M. Miniño, M.P. Heron, and B. L. Smith, "Deaths: Preliminary Data for 2004," National Vital Statistics Reports 54, no. 19 (Hyattsville, MD: National Centers for Health Statistics, 2006).
74. Sam Roberts, "51 Percent ofWomen Are Now Living without Spouse," New York Times, January 16, 2007; Byron Calame, "Can a 15-Year-Old Be a 'Woman without a Spouse'?" New York Times, February 11, 2007.
75. The fascinating story of how Americans learned to locate their own behavior within the context of statistical averages is told in Sarah E. Igo, The Averaged American: Surveys, Citizens, and the Making of a Mass Public (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2007).
76. Ana M. Aizcorbe, Arthur B. Kennickell, and Kevin B. Moore, "Recent Changes in U.S. Family Finances: Evidence from the 1998 and 2001 Survey of Consumer Finances," Federal Reserve Bulletin, January 2003.
77. Morton Ann Gernsbacher, Michelle Dawson, and H. Hill Goldsmith, "Three Reasons Not to Believe in an Autism Epidemic," Current Directions in Psychological Science 14 (2005): 55-85.
78. National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, "The Importance of Family Dinners III," September 2006, www.casacolumbia.org.
79. John P. A. Ioannidis, "Contradicted and Initially Stronger Effects in Highly Cited Clinical Research," Journal of the American Medical Association 294 (2005): 218-28.
80. Joel Best, More Damned Lies and Statistics: How Numbers Confuse Public Issues (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004), 79-83.
81. William J. Bennett, John J. DiIulio Jr., and John P. Walters, Body Count (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996), 26.
82. Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (New York: Morrow, 2005).
83. Shankar Vedantam, "Research Links Lead Exposure, Criminal Activity," Washington Post, July 8, 2007.
84. Franklin E. Zimring, The Great American Crime Decline (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007).
85. Sarah O. Meadows, Kenneth C. Land, and Vicki L. Lamb, "Assessing Gilligan vs. Sommers: Gender-Specific Trends in Child and Youth Well-Being in the United States, 1985-2001," Social Indicators Research 70 (2005): 1-52.
86. Peg Tyre, "The Trouble with Boys," Newsweek, January 30, 2006, 52.
87. National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics, 2004, table 173, 2005 http://nces.ed.gov.
88. Iraq Body Count, "The Iraq Body Count Project," 2007, www.iraqbodycount.org/background.php.
89. Gilbert Burnham, Riyadh Lafta, Shannon Doocy, and Les Roberts, "Mortality after the 2004 Invasion of Iraq: A Cross- Section Cluster Sample Survey," The Lancet 368 (2006): 1421-28.
90. Karen DeYoung, "Experts Doubt Drop in Violence in Iraq: Military Statistics Called into Question," Washington Post, September 6, 2007.