Bad graphics and interpretation
Prof. wholeheartedly believes that everyone should learn how to represent and interpret data to make the best decisions in life. It’s also important to be able to tell when someone is exaggerating the facts. They aren’t intentionally lying, but the information they are sharing is not an accurate representation of the situation. Conveniently, the learning objectives for this module of this course require you to be able to call Shenanigans on misinterpreted data.
Thus, for this extra credit assignment, you need to find a recent example of flawed statistical analysis (the flaw can be a poor graphic, misuse of statistical vocabulary, or incorrect use of a numerical calculation) from any big name news/social media outlet. Once you have your example, you need to explain the statistical concept being misrepresented, and point out how to fix/avoid making the statistical mistake.
Your response should be less than 300 words and should include:
The source of the recently misrepresented data (via either a link or a photo/screenshot posted within the last 8 months)
A brief explanation of what’s wrong with the image or interpretation, and how you could fix/avoid the mistake.
If you’re having trouble getting started check out these examples from a course held at the University of Washington of how you can misrepresent data visually if you aren’t careful:
