The field of statistics is the science of learning from data. Statisticians offer essential insight in determining which data and conclusions are trustworthy. When statistical principles are correctly applied, statistical analyses tend to produce accurate results.
To produce conclusions that you can trust, statisticians must ensure that all stages are correct.
Statisticians know how to:
Design studies that answers the question at hand
Collect trustworthy data
Analyze data appropriately
Draw reliable conclusions
The Many Ways to Produce Misleading Conclusions
Statisticians should be a study’s guide through a minefield of potential pitfalls, any of which could produce misleading conclusions. The list below is but a small sample of these pitfalls.
Biased samples: A non-random sample can bias the results from the beginning.
Overgeneralization: The results from one population may not apply to another population. Statistical inferences are always limited and you need to understand the limitations.
Causality: How do you know when X causes a change in Y? Statisticians require tight criteria in order to assume causality.
Incorrect analysis choices: Is the model too simple or too complex? Does it adequately capture any curvature that is present? There are many ways you can perform analyses, but not all of them are correct.
Violation of the assumptions for an analysis: If you perform an analysis without checking the assumptions, you cannot trust the results.
Data mining: Even if everything passes muster, an analyst can find significant results simply by performing many tests. Statisticians keep track of all the tests in order to put the results in the proper context.
Statistics to the Rescue
In short, there are many ways to produce misleading conclusions.
If you want to use data to learn how the world works, you must have statistical knowledge to trust your data and your results. There’s just no way around it. Even if you are not performing the study, understanding statistics can help you assess the quality of other studies and the validity of their
conclusions.
The world today produces more data than ever before, and this is why we are celebrating statistics. It’s important to show others the impact statistics is having on society, including all branches of science, industry, public health, and public policy.
Some analyses are straight up for science and others are more partisan in nature. Are you ready? Will you know which conclusions to trust and which studies to doubt?
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