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Statistics in the Media

INSTRUCTIONS:

(1) You must write at least three full paragraphs to receive credit for this assignment. (2) Find and critique an example of the use of inferential statistics in the media. You can select an example from a local or national news organization or from social media. For example, you might discuss a news story that presents the results of an election survey, or a piece about the spread of the coronavirus, or a graph that your aunt posted on her social media account. (3) Be sure to include a link to the story or graphic you are describing. You can also copy and paste particular graphs or charts you want to discuss and quote specific passages of text. (4) Describe how inferential statistics are being used in this piece of media and provide an assessment and critique. For example, you might discuss issues like the sample (e.g., sample size, representativeness, sampling strategy) and what inferences are being made about the general population based on this sample, whether the statistics are correctly presented to the audience, if a specific graph appears to be intentionally misleading, whether estimates of uncertainty are provided (e.g., confidence intervals or margin of error), what could be improved or clarified, or what we can learn from this piece of media. Required Course Texts: Frankfort-Nahmias, Chava and Anna Leon-Guerrero.  2017. “Social Statistics for a Diverse Society.” 8th edition. Sage Publications.
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