1-Statistics are extremely important in every research/study conducted and are even important in our everyday lives. Statistics can be used in many ways, some might use it to prove a new procedure should be used due to evidence based research, some might use it to evalute cause and effect, and some might even use it to sway the populations opinion or views on a certain topic. Statistics can absolutely be used for the betterment of the community or it is be used negatively (whether it is intentional or not). There are many different examples of statistics being used inappropriately. Statisticshowto gives great examples of statistics being used in a negative way:
Anyone remember Colgates claim that 80% of dentists recommended the brand? You wont be seeing that slogan again, at least not in the UK. Consumers were led to believe that 80% of dentists recommended Colgate while 20% recommended other brands. It turns out that when dentists were surveyed, they could choose several brands not just one. So other brands could be just as popular as Colgate. This completely misleading statistic was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority
In 2009 and 2010, Reebok made the following claims about its EasyTone and RunTone shoes: Lab tests proved that the shoes work your hamstrings and calves up to 11% harder and tone your butt up to 28% more than regular sneakers
just by walking!. The figures turned out to be complete garbage. The FTC stated that Reebok needed to pay a settlement of $25 million for deceptive advertising.
Perhaps the most famous case ever of misleading statistics in the news is the case of Sally Clark, who was convicted of murdering her children. She was freed after it was found the statistics used in her murder trial were completely wrong.
Statisticshowto (2014) Misleading statistics examples in advertising and the news. Retrieved from http://www.statisticshowto.com/misleading-statistics-examples/
2-The misuse of statistics is common in society trying to influence or drive certain agendas in many fields such as healthcare, sports, politics, advertisement and many others. For the Prime Minister Benjamin to classify statistics as a form of lie, he was not further from the truth, but there is a pre-condition, which should address how researchers are applying the given statistics. When done openly and without bias, while avoiding errors, would increase, the validity and accuracy of conclusions made from the study.
3-Statistics involves mathematical procedures, which involves all the details from conducting a certain research to the conclusion of the research. It starts with raw data collected, compiling of such data, analyzing the data, drawing conclusions before representation. Misuse of statistical data sets happens when researchers and those conducting the study mishandle the data either willingly or unwillingly. Errors made during the process of research end up bringing about mistakes in conclusion while intentional errors are supposed to help spread a certain bias as noted in your hotel advertisement.
