Here, by popular demand, is the updated edition to Joel Best's classic guide to understanding how numbers can confuse us. In his new afterword, Best uses examples from recent policy debates to reflect on the challenges to improving statistical literacy. Since its publication ten years ago, Damned Lies and Statistics has emerged as the go-to handbook for spotting bad statistics and learning to think critically about these influential numbers.
Working With Numbers and Statistics: A Handbook for Journalists will bolster math skills and improve math confidence for journalists at all skill levels. Authors Charles Livingston and Paul Voakes developed this resource book to improve journalistic writing and reporting, enabling journalists to: *make accurate, reliable computations, which in turn enables one to make relevant comparisons, put facts into perspective, and lend important context to stories; *recognize inaccurate presentations, whether willfully spun or just carelessly relayed; *ask appropriate questions about numerical matters; *translate complicated numbers for viewers and readers in ways they can readily understand; *understand computer-assisted reporting; and *write livelier, more precise pieces through the use of numbers. The math is presented in a journalistic context throughout, enabling readers to see how the procedures will come into play in their work. Working With Numbers and Statistics is designed as a reference work for journalism students developing their writing and reporting skills. It will also serve professionals as a useful tool to improve their understanding and use of numbers in news stories.
Taken literally, the title "All of Statistics" is an exaggeration. But in spirit, the title is apt, as the book does cover a much broader range of topics than a typical introductory book on mathematical statistics. This book is for people who want to learn probability and statistics quickly. It is suitable for graduate or advanced undergraduate students in computer science, mathematics, statistics, and related disciplines. The book includes modern topics like non-parametric curve estimation, bootstrapping, and classification, topics that are usually relegated to follow-up courses. The reader is presumed to know calculus and a little linear algebra. No previous knowledge of probability and statistics is required. Statistics, data mining, and machine learning are all concerned with collecting and analysing data.
Uses real-world examples from various media to give students an introduction to fundamentals of statistical thinking. Unlike many standard texts in the discipline, the book focuses on conceptual understanding - the meaning behind mathematical calculations rather than the calculations themselves.
With the mapping of the partition function graphs of the n-vector magnetic model in the n to 0 limit as the self-avoiding walks, the conformational statistics of linear polymers was clearly understood in early seventies. Various models of disordered solids, percolation model in particular, were also established by late seventies. Subsequently, investigations on the statistics of linear polymers or of self-avoiding walks in, say, porous medium or disordered lattices were started in early eighties. Inspite of the brilliant ideas forwarded and extensive studies made for the next two decades, the problem is not yet completely solved in its generality. This intriguing and important problem has remained since a topic of vigorous and active research. This book intends to offer the readers a first hand and extensive review of the various aspects of the problem, written by the experts in the respective fields. We hope, the contents of the book will provide a valuable guide for researchers in statistical physics of polymers and will surely induce further research and advances towards a complete understanding of the problem. First book on statistics of polymers in random media. Contents straight away from research labs. Chapters written by foremost experts in the respective fields. Theories, experiments and computer simulations extensively discussed. Includes latest developments in understanding related important topics like DNA unzipping, Travelling salesman problem, etc. Comprehensive index for quick search for keywords.
Audience and media analytics is more important now than ever, and this latest volume in the cutting-edge BEA Electronic Media Research Series collects some of the top scholars working with big data and analytics today. These chapters describe the development and help define media analytics as an academic discipline and professional practice. Understanding audiences is integral to creating and distributing media messages and the study of media analytics requires knowing a range of skills including research methods, the necessary tools available, familiarity with statistical procedures, and a mindset to provide insights and apply findings. This book summarizes the insights of analytics practitioners regarding the current state of legacy media analysis and social media analytics. Topics covered include the evolution of media technologies, the teaching of media measurement and analytics, the transition taking place in media research, and the use of media analytics to answer meaningful questions, drive content creation, and engage with audiences.
From the quality of the air we breathe to the national leaders we choose, data and statistics are a pervasive feature of daily life and daily news. But how do news, numbers and public opinion interact with each other – and with what impacts on society at large? Featuring an international roster of established and emerging scholars, this book is the first comprehensive collection of research into the little understood processes underpinning the uses/misuses of statistical information in journalism and their socio-psychological and political effects. Moving beyond the hype around "data journalism," News, Numbers and Public Opinion delves into a range of more latent, fundamental questions such as: · Is it true that most citizens and journalists do not have the necessary skills and resources to critically process and assess numbers? · How do/should journalists make sense of the increasingly data-driven world? · What strategies, formats and frames do journalists use to gather and represent different types of statistical data in their stories? · What are the socio-psychological and political effects of such data gathering and representation routines, formats and frames on the way people acquire knowledge and form attitudes? · What skills and resources do journalists and publics need to deal effectively with the influx of numbers into in daily work and life – and how can newsrooms and journalism schools meet that need? The book is a must-read for not only journalists, journalism and media scholars, statisticians and data scientists but also anybody interested in the interplay between journalism, statistics and society.
