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News and Numbers
A Writer's Guide to Statistics
"News & Numbers is a classic that should be a must-read for journalists in all fields, from business to sports. It provides practical advice for avoiding embarrassing statistical pitfalls." "The demand for press coverage of science and medicine is growing as public interest grows. This book sets the standard. It uses simple language to teach the layman or the scientist how to read and understand scientific publications. Even more important, it teaches one to critically interpret and think about research findings and ask the right questions. This is a book that you can read from cover to cover and then keep as a reference." "Vic Cohn's reporting inspired a generation of science and health writers, and he kept us on the straight and narrow with his concise and engaging book on how to interpret scientific studies. Now updated and expanded, his classic guide to statistics should be essential reading, not just for reporters but for anybody trying to separate science from pseudoscience in the torrent of unfiltered information flowing over the internet."
—Cristine Russell, President, Council for the Advancement of Science Writing
—Otis Brawley, Chief Medical and Scientific Officer, ACS
—Colin Norman, News Editor, Science magazine
Victor Cohn (Author), Lewis Cope (Author), Deborah Cohn Runkle (With)
9781405160964, Wiley
Paperback / softback, published 2 September 2011
208 pages
22.4 x 14.5 x 1 cm, 0.249 kg
Numbers and statistical claims dominate today's news. Politics, budgets, crime analysis, medical issues, and sports reporting all demand numbers. Now in its third edition, News & Numbers focuses on how to evaluate statistical claims in science, health, medicine, and politics. It does so by helping readers answer three key questions about all scientific studies, polls, and other statistical claims: "What can I believe?" "What does it mean?" and "How can I explain it to others?" Updated throughout, this long overdue third edition brings this classic text up-to-date with the 21st century with a complete updating of examples, case studies, and stories. The text emphasises clear thinking and common sense approaches for understanding, analyzing and explaining statistics, and terms throughout the book are explained in easy-to-understand, nontechnical language. Much new material has been added to ensure the text maintains its pertinent approach to the subject, including:
A Note to Our Readers vii A Tribute to Victor Cohn, 1919–2000 ix Foreword xi Acknowledgments xiii Notes on Sources xv Part I Learning the Basics 1 A Guide to Part I of News & Numbers 2 1 Where We Can Do Better 3 2 The Certainty of Uncertainty 8 3 Testing the Evidence 15 4 What Makes a Good Study? 37 5 Your Questions and Peer Review 54 Part II Now Down to Specifics 69 A Guide to Part II of News & Numbers 70 6 Tests and Drug Trials 71 7 Vital Statistics 83 8 Health Costs, Quality, and Insurance 97 9 Our Environment 108 10 Writing About Risks 124 11 Polls 133 12 Statistical Savvy for Many Types of News 145 Epilogue 161 Glossary 163 Bibliography 170 Index 173
Subject Areas: Society & culture: general [JF]
