Does a young person commit suicide every thirteen minutes in the United States? Are four million women really battered to death by their husbands or boyfriends each year? Is methamphetamine our number one drug problem today? Alarming statistics bombard our daily lives, appearing in the news, on the Web, seemingly everywhere. But all too often, even the most respected publications present numbers that are miscalculated, misinterpreted, hyped, or simply misleading. This new edition contains revised benchmark statistics, updated resources, and a new section on the rhetorical uses of statistics, complete with new problems to be spotted and new examples illustrating those problems. Joel Best's best seller exposes questionable uses of statistics and guides the reader toward becoming a more critical, savvy consumer of news, information, and data. Entertaining, informative, and concise, Stat-Spotting takes a commonsense approach to understanding data and doesn't require advanced math or statistics.

PREFACE TO THE 2013 EDITIONPART 1. GETTING STARTEDA. SPOTTING QUESTIONABLE NUMBERSB. BACKGROUNDB.1 Statistical BenchmarksB.2 Severity and FrequencyPART 2. VARIETIES OF DUBIOUS DATAC. BLUNDERSC.1 The Slippery Decimal PointC.2 Botched TranslationsC.3 Misleading GraphsC.4 Careless CalculationsD. SOURCES: WHO COUNTED-AND WHY?D.1 Big Round NumbersD.2 HyperboleD.3 Shocking ClaimsD.4 Naming the ProblemE. DEFINITIONS: WHAT DID THEY COUNT?E.1 Broad DefinitionsE.2 Expanding DefinitionsE.3 Changing DefinitionsE.4 The UncountedF. MEASUREMENTS: HOW DID THEY COUNT?F.1 Creating MeasuresF.2 Odd Units of AnalysisF.3 Loaded QuestionsF.4 Raising the BarF.5 Technical MeasuresG. PACKAGING: WHAT ARE THEY TELLING US?G.1 Impressive FormatsG.2 Misleading SamplesG.3 Convenient Time FramesG.4 Peculiar PercentagesG.5 Selective ComparisonsG.6 Statistical MilestonesG.7 AveragesG.8 EpidemicsG.9 CorrelationsG.10 DiscoveriesH. RHETORIC: WHAT DO THEY WANT US TO THINK?H.1 Using Short-Term Turnover to Measure Long-Term ProblemsH.2 Sudden Turns for the WorseH.3 Designating MythsH.4 Rhetorical FlourishesI. DEBATES: WHAT IF THEY DISAGREE?I.1 Causality DebatesI.2 Equality DebatesI.3 Policy DebatesPART 3. STAT-SPOTTING ON YOUR OWNJ. SUMMARY: COMMON SIGNS OF DUBIOUS DATAK. BETTER DATA: SOME CHARACTERISTICSL. AFTERWORD: IF YOU HAD NO IDEA THINGS WERE THAT BAD, THEY PROBABLY AREN'TM. SUGGESTIONS FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO CONTINUE STAT-SPOTTINGACKNOWLEDGMENTSNOTESINDEX