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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.
Price: $29.95
Pages: 224
Publisher: University of California Press
Imprint: University of California Press
Publication Date:
07 August 2012
Trim Size: 8.25 X 5.50 in
ISBN: 9780520274709
Format: Hardcover
Joel Best is Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice at the University of Delaware. His many books include Everyone’s A Winner: Life in Our Congratulatory Culture and Stat-Spotting: A Field Guide to Dubious Data, both from UC Press.
Acknowledgments
Preface
Introduction: The Worst Social Statistic Ever
1. The Importance of Social Statistics
2. Soft Facts: Sources of Bad Statistics
3. Mutant Statistics: Methods for Mangling Numbers
4. Apples and Oranges: Inappropriate Comparisons
5. Stat Wars: Conflicts over Social Statistics
6. Thinking about Social Statistics: The Critical Approach
Afterword
Notes
Index
Preface
Introduction: The Worst Social Statistic Ever
1. The Importance of Social Statistics
2. Soft Facts: Sources of Bad Statistics
3. Mutant Statistics: Methods for Mangling Numbers
4. Apples and Oranges: Inappropriate Comparisons
5. Stat Wars: Conflicts over Social Statistics
6. Thinking about Social Statistics: The Critical Approach
Afterword
Notes
Index