Good Stats!

How to sort the wheat from

the chaf

Wheat
Data and Facts
Decision Making
Bridge

Good Stats use Data and

Facts
that are
reproducible
that are subjected
to mathematical
analyses

Good Stats Facilitate

Decision Making
by separating
variations from
common and
unusual causes
by helping test
beliefs and
opinions
by helping to
simplify complex
situations

Good Stats Serve as a

Bridge
Between raw data
and understanding
Between
theoretical models
and reality

Chaff
Numbers
Uncertain
Misrepresentation

Bad Stats forget that

Numbers
are an abstraction
of reality
reduce raw data
into even smaller
quantities

Bad Stats Dont

Recognize that
Uncertainty
Is an inherent part

of statistics
Is measurable in
and of itself

Bad Stats Misrepresent

Information by
Using poor
experimental design
Making wrong
choices for
statistical analyses
Creating misleading
graphs or charts
Selecting misleading
summary values

Celebrate Statistics!

Start with reliable data

Use the best analyses
Interpret the results appropriately
Understand the limitations