1) Advertisement
a)
The page presents the measure of consumers' trust by different types advertising and recommendations in North America in 2011 – 2013 (The Statistical Portal). The data are presented in the form of bar charts that represent percentages. The authors aimed to list the sources of information and arrange them in descending order. The claim of the page is that people tend to believe some sources more than the others do.
b)
Suppose the authors base the data on the correct data. The bars represent the percentage of respondents who answered the question by ‘trust somehow’ and ‘trust completely’. The survey indicates that the people trust the recommendations of other people more than media advertisements. Yet, if the first-ranked position is reliable (the trust percentage significantly differs from the next positions), the next are questionable. For example, the ranking of the next positions, namely customer's online feedbacks, newspaper advertisements, e-mails, TV and magazine advertisements is questionable. Their percentage rates are rather close (63-67%), and thus the ranking is statistically inconsistent. The survey data are always subject to variability. Variability causes fluctuation of the parameter, and the greater the variability, the more significant the fluctuation. The positions with greater fluctuations should be shifted down the rank, irrespective of percentage values. In addition, the number of respondents who participated in the survey (or answered each question) should have been presented.
c)
Each of the positions should have been represented as a bar with error bars that indicate the accuracy of the data. Fig. 1 illustrates the example.
The number of respondents is also important. The survey that involves more respondents is typically more reliable.
2) News
a)
The news presented by Mora discusses the main economic characteristics at Obama residence. The data on the median household income, as well as the review on gross domestic product (GDP) dynamics are presented. The data are summarized with historical trends, critics of Obama government, political forecasts, and critics of the inappropriate statistics presentation.
b)
The article criticizes speculation regarding the annual median household income. The issue is about the decrease of annual income in 2016 comparing the pre-recession year 2000. In 2000, the median household income was $57,342 (2016 dollars value used). The 2016 figure is $57,263, which is slightly less. However, comparing the data on pre- and post-recession years, with an interval of 16 years, is incorrect. In this case, the measure of recession is not considered. The government is not always responsible for the rates of recovery from the recession, and therefore any positive trends are valuable
The same way, Obama is accused of the low GDP increase (less than 3%). However, the low figures themselves do not indicate poor economic governance. Despite of the Great Depression comparison, the claim is not consistent. The economic data of 1930 cannot be compared to 2009-2016 due to completely different political, international and technological situation.
c)
The figure of annual household income for 2015 is $2,409 less than of 2016, and therefore the trend for the latest two years is obvious. This fact has to be clearly stated. In addition, the full set of annual incomes for years 1998 – 2016 should have been presented as a table or as a graph. Additionally, the remarks about general trends in economy of the developed countries should have been described. This is also helpful for the GDP trends assessment. For example, the information on the oil prices dynamics and description of the oil contribution in GDP should have been discussed.
3) Appropriate statistics
a)
The page presents the statistics on brain tumors (American Brain Tumor Association). There are various types of statistics presented: the descriptive ranking, forecasting, percentage of disease, etc.
The data on the place of brain tumor spread among other cancer deceases are presented, and it is indicated that brain tumor is the most common cancer, and the second cause of cancer-related death.
b)
Basing on the data of the previous years, the forecast for the next year is made for malignant and non-malignant tumors, and the separate assessment for the young people is performed. The number of people who live with brain tumor in the U.S. is presented, and the forecast for unsuccessful treatment is performed. The median age was found, and it is 59 years.
Except for the brain tumor statistics, the data on tumor peculiarities are present. For example, the authors indicate that meningiomas are 36.4% of primary brain tumors, and 27% are gliomas. The statistics of other types of tumors are presented (lymphomas, oligodendrogliomas, medulloblastomas, etc.)
c)
The data presented in the news are based on numerous clinical research and vast medical statistics gathered in the USA. Therefore, the population represented by the statistics is great, and thus the conclusions made are significant and reliable. When there are sufficient quantity of data, the calculated percentages are reliable. It should be noted that the medicine-related data should always be based on the vast population, since one of the necessary assessment is the complications analysis, which can be accepted as significant only when the great number of population is studied.
Works Cited
American Brain Tumor Association. Brain Tumor Statistics. American Brain Tumor Association, n.d. Web. 15 Jun 2016.
Mora Alex. Fox news blasts obama on household income, fails to mention incomes are going up. Media Matters for America, n.d. Web. 15 Jun 2016.
The Statistical Portal. Consumer trust in different types of advertising in North America 2011-2015. The Statistical Portal, n.d. Web. 15 Jun 2016.
