Quantitative Thinking In The Workplace

When conducting research data is gathered from a sample. The data can prove or disprove the hypothesis. When reviewing the data, a person can become bias and only use the data that they feel is beneficial to their study. Rubin and Babbie (2014) write about the two types of sampling bias: Conscious and Unconscious. The authors state “When we speak of bias in connection with sampling, this simply means those selected are not typical or representative of the larger populations from which they have been chosen” (Rubin & Babbie, 2014).

• Provide at least two examples or problem situations in which statistics was used or could be used.

the audience, and it is hard to put it to perspective. Therefore, a statistic is appealing to the

In the video Don't Be Fooled By Bad Statistics posted by Emily Dressler three forms of bad statistics are discussed, poorly collected data, leading questions, and misuse if center. Information collected poorly will lead to misleading results and false conclusions. Dressler uses the example of data collected by researchers pertaining to magazine preference during business hours. The data is skewed because of the time of day the information was gleaned rendered the sample not representative of the entire population. Another form of bad statistics has to do with how the desired information was elicited. Leading questions may result in biased responses. Questions need to be worded carefully so the information collected is not influenced by the interviewer. Finally, the video talks about misuse of center. Data can be misleading if not appropriately analyzed. Outliers, an individual value that falls outside the overall pattern of data can prejudice the conclusion leading to incorrect assumptions. An example might be that of the man who drowned in a pond with an average dept of one inch. The pond was one quarter inch deep everywhere but in the center where there was a ten foot hole.

Understanding what needs to be measured and knowing the appropriate methods for measuring is important for any business in any field even if their goal isn’t to make money. Several courses in the first year add to our use of the using numbers skill:

In his 2013 book, Naked Statistics, Charles Wheelan explains a field that is commonly seen, commonly applied, and commonly misinterpreted: statistics. Though statistical data is ubiquitous in daily life, valid statistical conclusions are not. Wheelan reveals that when data analysis is flawed or incomplete, faulty conclusions abound. Wheelan’s work uncovers statistics’ unscrupulous potential, but also makes a key distinction between deliberate misuse and careless misreading. However, his analysis is less successful in distinguishing common sense from poor judgement, a gap that enables the very statistical issues he describes to perpetuate themselves.

There is a South African Proverb that states "Until lions write books, history will always glorify the hunter". In his play "Los Vendidos", Luis Valdez tries to become a lion and let the voice of Chicano history be heard. Luis Valdez does this in a satirical way by presenting the views and stereotypes that many American’s have had and continue to have, about Chicano’s in the form of a shop where Chicano "model/robots" are sold. By presenting each Chicano as a robot and stereotype, Luis Valdez tries to earse of the "models" of Chicano’s that people have in their heads and tries to point out that there is a strong Chicano culture and a rich history that has been ignored by American’s for years.

He gives many examples for this argument. Joel Best states that bad statistics are created because of four things, “guessing, dubious definitions, questionable

Problem Solving/Judgement: Quanda demonstrates a keen ability to examine data information thoroughly, distinguish details and solve problems with meticulous research methods which contribute to the accuracy

Statistics is a mathematical science pertaining to the collection, analysis, interpretation or explanation, and presentation of data. It is applicable to a wide variety of academic disciplines, from the physical and social sciences to the humanities. Statistics are also used for making informed decisions – and misused for other reasons – in all areas of business and government. Statistical methods can be used to summarize or describe a collection of data; this is called descriptive statistics. In addition, patterns in the data may be modeled in a way that accounts for randomness and uncertainty in the observations, and then used to draw inferences about the process or population being studied; this is called inferential statistics. Both

In Charles Wheelan’s Naked Statistics: Stripping the Dread from the Data, Wheelan introduces many concepts fundamental to everyday life that escape the attention of even the most attentive human beings. Within these texts, Wheelan expresses that statistics, and therefore data, is an integral part of our lives, though it is often grossly misunderstood. With detailed descriptions of introductory statistical analysis, the author provides insights to the many misinterpretations and misrepresentations present in the statistical world today, often citing instances relatable to all people. Ads, commercials, campaigns, and any other mode of propaganda will contain data to support the cause of promotion, and for this reason—although not this reason alone—statistics has become intricate in our lives. The two most interesting points Wheelan makes refer to the intentional warping of data or computations to manipulate intended audiences; specifically, it is interesting to consider the moral obligation behind decision making versus the societal pressure added by the increasing use of statistics to rank or qualify oneself not to the world, but also to measure one’s self. Secondly, it fascinating to consider that statistical evidence that is seemingly unrelated to human life can explain phenomena intrinsic to human behavior and physiology previously misunderstood or unconsidered.

The book How to Lie with Statistics written by Darrell Huff shows you how statistics are used to mislead; sometimes unintentionally, other times on purpose. It gives the readers the knowledge necessary to intelligently question and understand the story behind the numbers. In other words, it shows the tricks the crooks use, so that honest men can use this knowledge for self defense.

The book simple statistics explains “Humans make mistakes inputting data, Data entry”(Meithei pg. 35), the idea that the statistic can be wrong can potentially cause confusion for the people. When people view statistics it is easy for them too believe the article with out doing any prior research this is do because all the information is present. The only way to deter individuals from believing samples is explaining the samples in a “complex to simple method”(Meithei, pg. 34) which can potentially helped the consumer understand. In the book simple statistics explains “Non problabiby sampling” (Meithei, pg. 41) means that selectin a sample where selection is unknown unregistered and impossible to estimate sampling error. An example of researcher sampling and testing being taken out of context is President Bush tax cuts. The graphs showcases Presidents bushes tax cuts “Bush’s taxes cuts being superior than the opponents”(Gregory, 2012) the graph in truth shows that Bush’s tax cuts will not benefit the country. The statistical consumer must understand that there are many graphs taking out context and is up too the consumer too research the data for correct

Statistics can be deceptive in the way they are presented, too. For instance, one recent

The use of quantitative data to solve a problem may seem as everyday and common sense-ish as any other problem solving style; perhaps even more so as it seems to make so much sense. First though – what exactly is quantitative data? It is measurable (through a suitable measure such as dollars, degrees, inches, millimeters) and verifiable data. It is however, amenable to statistical manipulation. Quantitative data defines whereas qualitative data describes (BusinessDictionary.com, 2010).