EDUC 6125 Ethical Implications of the Use of Data and Statistics
Few people are surprised when politicians are accused of misusing data, but the misrepresentation of information is a fairly common occurrence in other settings as well. For example, teachers may be disheartened by the data coming from their school district’s presentations concerning student performance. Or a training manager may be taken by surprise when the funding is cut for a training program he believes is worthwhile. While the numbers or data may not be false, they may be presented in a way that creates a false impression.
For this Discussion, recall the examples from this week’s Learning Resources regarding how data can be misused or misinterpreted. Also reflect on the old adage: “Figures never lie, but all liars figure.” Then, bring to mind a situation or study in which numbers or statistics were used improperly, or come up with your own example of how this could be done. With these thoughts in mind:
By Day 3
Post a description of a situation/study or hypothetical example in which data or statistics are presented in a way that either intentionally or unintentionally misleads the reader or listener.
Required Readings
Locke, L. F., Silverman, S. J., & Spirduso, W. W. (2009). Reading and understanding research (3rd ed.). Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
Table 6.1, “Names of Common Statistical Procedures”
Table 6.2, “Purpose, Names, and Examples of Research Techniques Used in Quantitative Research”
Appendix B, “Statistics: A Beginner’s Guide”
Fink, A. (2020). Conducting research literature reviews: From the Internet to paper (5th ed.). Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
Chapter 3, “Searching and Screening: Methodological Quality (Part 2—Collection, Interventions, Analysis, Results, and Conclusion”
“Purpose of This Chapter”
“Data Collection and Data Sources: Methods and Measures”
“Reviewing Qualitative Research” (subsection of “Information Analysis: Statistical Methods in the Research Literature”)
All other sections are highly recommended, but not required.
Bhattacherjee, A. (2012). Social science research: Principles, methods, and practices. Retrieved from http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/oa_textbooks/3
Chapter 14: Quantitative Analysis: Descriptive Statistics
Chapter 15: Quantitative Analysis: Inferential Statistics
Chapter 16: Research Ethics
Required Media
Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). Lying with statistics [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu
In this program, you will explore examples of how data/statistics and visual representation of data can be manipulated to misrepresent the findings of a research.
Optional Resources
Statistics How To. (2016). Misleading graphs: Real life examples. Retrieved from http://www.statisticshowto.com/misleading-graphs/
Statistics Canada (2013). Misinterpretation of statistics. Retrieved from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/edu/power-pouvoir/ch6/mis…
Walden University. (2015). New to stats? An introduction to statistics and SPSS for Walden students. Retrieved from http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/ASCtutors/statsc…
Walden University. (n.d.). Research resources: Research design & analysis. Retrieved from http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/researchcenter/r…
Note: Focus on section, “Quantitative Research Design and Analysis”