Statistics Behind the Headlines (ASA-CRC Series on Statistical Reasoning in Science and Society)

How do you learn about what’s going on in the world? Did a news headline grab your attention? Did a news story report on recent research? What do you need to know to be a critical consumer of the news you read? If you are looking to start developing your data self-defense and critical news consumption skills, this book is for you! It reflects a long-term collaboration between a statistician and a journalist to shed light on the statistics behind the stories and the stories behind the statistics. The only prerequisite for enjoying this book is an interest in developing the skills and insights for better understanding news stories that incorporate quantitative information.

Chapters in Statistics Behind the Headlines kick off with a news story headline and a summary of the story itself. The meat of each chapter consists of an exploration of the statistical and journalism concepts needed to understand the data analyzed and reported in the story. The chapters are organized around these sections:

• What ideas will you encounter in this chapter?
• What is claimed? Is it appropriate?
• Who is claiming this?
• Why is it claimed? What makes this a story worth telling?
• Is this a good measure of impact?
• How is the claim supported?
• What evidence is reported?
• What is the quality/strength of the evidence?
• Does the claim seem reasonable?
• How does this claim fit with what is already known?
• How much does this matter?
• Considering the coverage

Chapters close with connections to the Stats + Stories podcast.

A. John Bailer was University Distinguished Professor and Chair in the Department of Statistics at Miami University and an affiliate member of the Departments of Biology, Media, Journalism and Film and Sociology and Gerontology. His interests include promoting quantitative literacy and enhancing connections between statistics and journalism which resulted in the awardwinning Stats + Stories podcast that he started with journalism colleagues in 2013.

Rosemary Pennington is Associate Professor in the Department of Media, Journalism and Film at Miami University. Her research examines the ways that marginalized groups are represented in media as well as how members of such groups may use media to challenge those representations. Pennington was a public broadcasting journalist working in Athens, Ohio, and Birmingham, Alabama.