2.9 Distorting the Truth with Descriptive Statistics
A picture may be “worth a thousand words,” but pictures can also color messages or distort them. In fact, the pictures displayed in statistics—histograms, bar charts, and other graphical images—are susceptible to distortion, so we have to examine each of them with care. Accordingly, we begin this section by mentioning a few of the pitfalls to watch for in interpreting a chart or a graph. Then we discuss how numerical descriptive statistics can be used to distort the truth.
Teaching Tip
Use this section to emphasize the importance of looking past the picture to the information it is trying to convey. If a student can successfully interpret the graph, she will be able to see through the deception. ...
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