Comments on: Be Careful of People Who Manipulate Statistics To Get Better Results http://ownthedollar.com/2009/04/careful-people-manipulate-statistics-results/ Own the dollar....don't let the dollar own you. Tue, 01 May 2012 14:22:12 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: John Careyhttp://ownthedollar.com/2009/04/careful-people-manipulate-statistics-results/#comment-4066 John Carey Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:30:14 +0000 http://ownthedollar.com/?p=863#comment-4066 Actually, it is possible for 9 out of 10 dentists to recommend all those different brands. You're just making the assumption that the dentists can only recommend one which isn't necessarily true. Not to unlike your boss who changed the assumptions, you were working on a different set of assumptions. As a side note, the company is either leaving things up to chance or being deceptive. If they only ask 10, then as soon as they get a second dentist who woudn't recommend their brand, their study is over. If they kept asking until they got nine and excluded all but one who wouldn't recommend their brand, that's just plain deceptive. Actually, it is possible for 9 out of 10 dentists to recommend all those different brands. You’re just making the assumption that the dentists can only recommend one which isn’t necessarily true. Not to unlike your boss who changed the assumptions, you were working on a different set of assumptions.

As a side note, the company is either leaving things up to chance or being deceptive. If they only ask 10, then as soon as they get a second dentist who woudn’t recommend their brand, their study is over. If they kept asking until they got nine and excluded all but one who wouldn’t recommend their brand, that’s just plain deceptive.

]]> By: Colleenhttp://ownthedollar.com/2009/04/careful-people-manipulate-statistics-results/#comment-1084 Colleen Fri, 03 Apr 2009 13:43:56 +0000 http://ownthedollar.com/?p=863#comment-1084 The only real danger of being manipulated by shoddy numbers is when you don't bother to be literate with regard to how to consume statistics. If you understand how proper research is conducted and how the statistics are calculated, you'll immediately discount the vast majority of crappy studies -- which is exactly what they are. Statistics are numbers. They can't lie. But because so many people are afraid of numbers, they become easy marks for the unscrupulous. The only real danger of being manipulated by shoddy numbers is when you don’t bother to be literate with regard to how to consume statistics. If you understand how proper research is conducted and how the statistics are calculated, you’ll immediately discount the vast majority of crappy studies — which is exactly what they are. Statistics are numbers. They can’t lie. But because so many people are afraid of numbers, they become easy marks for the unscrupulous.

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