For example, if an urban planner sees that population growth in a certain part of the city is increasing at an exponential rate compared to other . Prioritize protecting health professionals and journalists from online harassment. More recently, other studies led by Dr. Loeb found similarly misleading information about prostate cancer on TikTok and Instagram. ) or https:// means youve safely connected Going https://rigorousthemes.com/blog/misleading-data-visualization-examples/ Category: Health Show Health Recently, Kellogg's UK was hit with a ban from the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) after making false health claims in its advert for Special K cereal. Train journalists, editors, and other media professionals to recognize, correct, and avoid amplifying misinformation. Truncating axes is a very dangerous false statistics practice, as it can help create wrong narratives around important topics. Luxembourg and Andorra are in the top 10 largely because of their exceptionally small populations (roughly 600,000 and 77,000, respectively). That means there will likely be six possible explanations: - Car accidents (A) cause bear attacks (B), - Bear attacks (B) cause car accidents (A), - Car accidents (A) and bear attacks (B) partly cause each other, - Car accidents (A) and bear attacks (B) are caused by a third factor (C), - Bear attacks (B) are caused by a third factor (C) which correlates to car accidents (A). Misleading Coronavirus graphs. It becomes hard to believe any analysis! For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic misinformation has caused people to decline COVID-19 vaccines, reject public health measures such as masking and physical distancing, and use unproven treatments. For example, while France had almost 150 years to adapt to a change . For instance, showing a value for 3 months can show radically different trends than showing it over a year. Survival Rates in Cancer Survival rates are often used as a measure of cancer treatment success. Omitting data 10. Likewise, what are the motives behind it? To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System However, a closer look shows that the X-axis starts at 420,000 instead of 0. We use cookies to improve your website experience. On Sept. 29, 2015, Republicans from the U.S. Congress questioned Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood, regarding the misappropriation of $500 million in annual federal funding. The above graph/chart was presented as a point of emphasis. (Citation2012) titled Case Studies for Quantitative Reasoning: A Casebook of Media Articles. Average monthly temperature in New Haven, CT. Oh, wait -- did we say spin? Thats whats going on in your organization.. However, at the time this graph was published, many media publications interpreted the graph as if the deaths dropped, showing how damaging the misuse of graphs and numbers can be. Annual Data 3. Furthermore, an essential discussion should center around why specific locations may have had a mask mandate versus why others may not have, and to focus attention on the change over time within each grouprather than comparing between the groups. It is fixed". While initially, the trend was going towards choosing option A, when grouping surviving patients considering other variables the trend changed to option B. Just like other industries or areas that we will cover on this list of examples, the healthcare industry is not free of the misuse of statistics. Depending on the measure, data can be collected from different sources, including medical records, patient surveys, and administrative databases used to pay bills or to manage care. With the abundance of health information available today, it can be hard to tell what is true or not. Independent university study group, lab-affiliated research team, consulting company? What is a conclusion you could draw from this plot that would be more accurate (i.e., pushing them to consider association or correlation concepts)? Strengthen and scale the use of evidence-based educational programs that build resilience to misinformation. It can be difficult to know which sources of information you can trust. Asking a question to a sample size of 20 people, where 19 answers "yes" (=95% say for yes) versus asking the same question to 1,000 people and 950 answers "yes" (=95% as well): the validity of the percentage is clearly not the same. It demonstrates the change in air temperature (Celsius) from 1998 to 2012. . At the first glance, there may appear to not be anything inherently misleading about this plot (see Figure 1). Manipulating the Y-axis+ 6. Provide the public with context to avoid skewing their perceptions about ongoing debates on health topics. No matter how good a study might be, if it's not written using objective and formal language, then it is at risk to mislead. Misleading pie chart 4. Staying with our example, that would look like this: Given the rising costs to the middle class, do you support government assistance programs?. During one of Fow News broadcasts, anchor Tucker Carlson displayed a graph saying that the number of Americans identifying as Christians had collapsed over the last decade. Engage with your friends and family on the problem of health misinformation. That said, a bigger sample size is always better, as it highlights statistical differences more accurately. Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Quality of Health Care in America. We took a very obvious one to show you below. Considering the vast differences between, say, mice and elephants, it can be hard to fit 3 ounces and a ton on the same graph. In this article, we review government power for, and constitutional limits on, regulating health-related speech, particularly on the internet . Actually, there is no problem per se but there can be. While numbers dont always have to be fabricated or misleading, it is clear that even societys most trusted numerical gatekeepers are not immune to the carelessness and bias that can arise with statistical interpretation processes. Christopher Engledowl & Travis Weiland wrote an insightful article called Data (Mis)representation and COVID-19: Leveraging Misleading Data Visualizations For Developing Statistical Literacy Across Grades 616. It also happens to be a topic that is vigorously endorsed by both opponents and proponents via studies. It is a data mining technique where extremely large volumes of data are analyzed for the purpose of discovering relationships between different points. Figure 1, from the Healthgrades site, shows the results for the first. 1. Omitting baselines, or the axis of a graph, is one of the most common ways data is manipulated in graphs. Misleading statistics in politics are quite common. An analysis of misinformation from five samples across the United States, Europe, and Mexico showed that substantial portions of each populationanywhere from 15% to 37%believed misinformation about COVID-19 in April and May 2020, representing what the authors call a "major threat to public health.". Assess the impact of health misinformation. Datasets are analyzed in ad hoc and exploratory ways. Another way of creating misleading statistics, also linked with the choice of sample discussed above, is the size of said sample. For instance, of 100 patients that arrived in poor condition in Hospital A, 30 survived. It is generally agreed upon that the global mean temperature in 1998 was 58.3 degrees Fahrenheit. This is one of the many controversial examples of misleading COVID statistics that illustrates the authorities' responsibility to inform their audience accurately. Use this checklist everytime you come across health-related content you are not sure about. It would be preposterous to say that they cause each other and that is exactly why it is our example. To illustrate, a survey asks 20 people a yes-or-no question. Use a broader range of credible sourcesparticularly local sources. Carefully review information in preprints. Bias is most likely to take the form of data omissions or adjustments to prove a specific point. Content. You can see the updated version below. But you cannot know until you ask yourself a couple of questions and analyze the results you have in between your hands. Given the importance of data in todays rapidly evolving digital world, it is important to be familiar with the basics of misleading statistics and oversight. A more helpful way to look at this is the NNT (Number needed to treat, defined in statistics using the formula 100/%reduction). Just one in a long line of brands to falsely claim a product has health benefits, it . xkdc's comic illustrates this very well, to show how the "fastest-growing" claim is a totally relative marketing speech: Likewise, the needed sample size is influenced by the kind of question you ask, the statistical significance you need (clinical study vs business study), and the statistical technique. To get this trip started, let's look at a fallacious statistics definition. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Reasons to use the Community Toolkit video, Talk to your community about health misinformation, Share Myths and facts about COVID-19 vaccines to Facebook, Share Myths and facts about COVID-19 vaccines to Twitter, Share Myths and facts about COVID-19 vaccines on LinkedIn, Share Myths and facts about COVID-19 vaccines in an email, Share Battling misinformation through health messaging to Facebook, Share Battling misinformation through health messaging to Twitter, Share Battling misinformation through health messaging on LinkedIn, Share Battling misinformation through health messaging in an email, Share Health misinformation video to Facebook, Share Health misinformation video to Twitter, Share Health misinformation video on LinkedIn, Share Health misinformation video in an email, Battling misinformation through health messaging. An official website of the United States government. Another unfair method of polling is to ask a question, but precede it with a conditional statement or a statement of fact. Over the next few paragraphs, we provide some possible ways of using the two previous cases to support learning of comparing samples and association, as well as how data visualizations can (mis)lead both unintentionally and intentionally if the consumer is not critically examining them. Number don't add up 11. Second, without paying very close attention to the scales of the two vertical axes in the original plot, it would be easy to conclude that counties with mask mandates had dropped below that of those with no mask mandatean incorrect conclusion. Statistics can tell us about trends that are. 1. Definition of Misleading Statistics Statistics is the practice of collecting, organizing, and representing large amounts of numerical data. Verify the accuracy of information by checking with trustworthy and credible sources. This a sad representation of how dangerous misinformation can be. By Dana Litt and Scott Walters, March 24, 2021. tristin mays big time rush; You should only use log scales when there are clear reasons to graph order of magnitude. There, they speak about two use cases in which COVID-19 information was used in a misleading way. That marked the highest percentage since at least 1968, the earliest year for which the CDC has online records. Ioannidis JP. As mentioned, this is not the only time Fox News has been criticized because of these situations. Citation2020; GAISE College Report ASA Revision Committee Citation2016), there are specific goals related to being a critical consumer or informed citizenwhich includes being able to dissect and make sense of statistical information designed for the general publicas well as content expectations around facility with accurate data visualizations. The next of our most common examples for misuse of statistics and misleading data is, perhaps, the most serious. . During the initial stages of COVID, the general public was forced to consume scientific information in the form of data visualizations to stay informed about the current developments of the virus. Making the difference between the two publications a lot bigger than what it actually is, which is just 10%. As you saw throughout this post, illustrated with some insightful bad statistics examples, using data in a misleading way is very easy. Scientists! Misuse of statistics often happens in advertisements, politics, news, media, and others. Some useful questions to ask could be: What purpose might the Georgia Department of Public Health have had in manipulating the plot in this way? The ASA stated that the claim would be understood by readers to mean that 80 percent of dentists recommend Colgate over and above other brands, and the remaining 20 percent would recommend different brands.. Dietary supplement businesses frequently exaggerate the health benefits of their products. It was this unethical and misleading graph, which was also FDA approved, that helped in initiating one of the biggest health crises in the US, opioid addiction. 1. No one buys a magazine where it states that next year, the same thing is going to happen in XYZ market as this year even though it is true. Here's my top five falsehoods-in-figures: 1. With the rise of advanced technology and globalized operations, statistical analyses grant businesses insight into solving the extreme uncertainties of the market. No, it isn't. The size of India's middle class was 50 . After a discussion, and a conclusion that attempts to make a generalized claim beyond the data (i.e., an inference; also a seventh-grade standard), the adjusted plot (Figure 2) could be shared with questions such as: Does the conclusion still hold when the plot is adjusted to accurately depict the two situations? Continue to modernize public health communications. Each is likely a result of a third factor, that being: an increased population, due to the high tourism season in the month of June. As we mentioned earlier, the sample size is of utmost importance when it comes to deciding the worth of a study or its results. Strengthen the monitoring of health questions, concerns, and misinformation. Until March 26, the bars' heights correspond to the numbers. Purposely or not, the time periods we choose to portray will affect the way viewers perceive the data. Sometimes, it is better to just make a simple bar or even a table with a couple of columns so that something like this won't happen. Tread carefully, for either knowingly or ignorantly, correlation hunting will continue to exist within statistical studies. No, of course, its a made-up number (even though such a study would be interesting to know but again, could have all the flaws it tries at the same time to point out). On August 6, Steven Strogratz posted the following plot on Twitter (see Figure 2), which was a recreation of the plot produced by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment with the right side vertical scale removed and both categories of data appropriately placed on the same scale. Now, you might argue that The Times is telling the truth, as they are actually leading over their competitors. The report, "Births: Preliminary Data for 2009" found that the rate for the youngest teenagers, 10-14 years, fell from 0.6 to 0.5 per 1,000, also the lowest level ever reported. The field of statistics is concerned with collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and presenting data.. Using the wrong graph 7. On the other side, of 400 patients that arrived in poor condition at Hospital B, 210 survived at a survival rate of 52.5%. Here are common types of misuse of statistics: Now that you know them, it will be easier to spot them and question all the stats that are given to you every day. The Cake Is a Lie. (labels are clear, axes begin at 0, right chart type, etc) Is the research represented honestly and in an impartial manner? These false correlations often leave the general public very confused and searching for answers regarding the significance of causation and correlation. Statistics are infamous for their ability and potential to exist as misleading and bad data. This misleading data example is also referred to as data dredging (and related to flawed correlations). These controlling measures are essential and should be part of any experiment or survey unfortunately, that isnt always the case. Be prepared to be confused. Data (Mis)representation and COVID-19: L . 2 Cases of COVID Data Being (Mis)represented, https://doi.org/10.1080/26939169.2021.1915215, https://www.causalflows.com/introduction/, https://www.amstat.org/asa/education/Guidelines-for-Assessment-and-Instruction-in-Statistics-Education-Reports.aspx, http://www.thefunctionalart.com/2020/05/about-that-weird-georgia-chart.html, https://www.statisticsteacher.org/2019/09/19/using-locus-released-items/, https://apnews.com/f218e1a38cce6b2af63c1cd23f1d234e, https://twitter.com/MaddowBlog/status/1291553722527604736?s=20, https://www.ajc.com/news/stateregional-govtpolitics/just-cuckoo-state-latest-data-mishap-causes-critics-cry-foul/182PpUvUX9XEF8vO11NVGO/, http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/iase/serj/SERJ5(2).pdf#page=30. You will end up with a statistical error called selective bias. While numbers dont lie, they can in fact be used to mislead with half-truths. Address health misinformation in your community. 1) Misleading Data Visualization Examples 2) How to Avoid Misleading Visuals 3) The Impact Of Bad Data Visualizations Nobody likes feeling manipulated in any way, shape, or form. If you see this graph, you would obviously think the UKs national debt is higher than ever. newrepublic.com / Via reddit.com Advertisement 3. For the presidential run of 2012, the news network showed the graph below where we see a pie chart displaying a total of 193% which is clearly wrong and misleading as the total should be 100%. Going against conventions. However, misinformation on major public health issues, such as vaccines and diseases, was also high. The image below shows a graph advertising KFCs crispy chicken twister wrap and comparing its calories with other brands with a similar product. People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read. The size of India's middle class is 300 million people. Politifact, a fact-checking advocacy website, reviewed Rep. Chaffetzs numbers via a comparison with Planned Parenthoods own annual reports. The most common one is of course correlation versus causation, which always leaves out another (or two or three) factors that are the actual causation of the problem. Misleading Graphs: Incomplete Data. In this case 100/1.2% =88. This page includes the key takeaways from the advisory. These two questions are likely to provoke far different responses, even though they deal with the same topic of government assistance. Proactively engage with patients and the public on health misinformation, Use technology and media platforms to share accurate health information with the public. People who were more susceptible to . If you really want to make a shocking statement, make sure you only include part of the data. The plot that was originally posted to the Georgia Department of Public Health website (image provided by Twitter user Calling Bullshit, Figure 3) appears to show that the number of COVID-19 cases in the top five counties in the state, at the time, were consistently dropping over the previous month. Citation2020; GAISE College Report ASA Revision Committee Citation2016), in particular as it relates to being a critical consumer of statistics. to the .gov website. In 2006, The Times, a popular UK newspaper, printed a story about how they were the leading paper both online and in print in the UK. And over the years, tobacco. In a similar fashion, once students have begun to develop an understanding of associationa topic beginning in the eighth grade under CCSSM, and appearing in tertiary statistics as well as quantitative reasoning coursesa time-series plot might be shared, such as the one in Figure 4 taken from this blog post (Acquah Citation2020, May). When this paradox goes unnoticed, it can significantly influence the way the data is interpreted, leaving room to believe a certain conclusion or assumption is an absolute truth, when it could change by looking at it from a different perspective. A good rule of thumb is to always take polling with a grain of salt and to try to review the questions that were actually presented. There are plenty of examples available, but looking to the world of hockey, a team that gets the puck in their opponents' end during a power play and just cycle for two minutes without taking a shot actually waste a two minute opportunity with puck possession. This list of misleading statistics fallacy examples would not be complete without referencing the COVID-19 pandemic. More than half of all suicides in 2021 - 26,328 out of 48,183, or 55% - also involved a gun, the highest percentage since 2001. So, let's explore some interesting choices of using data visualization tools and discuss why they are misleading. First, although there was an obvious decline, the word rapid is not as justifiableit is certainly less pronounced. If you are the one performing the analysis, for instance generating reports for your job, you can ask yourself a few relevant questions to avoid using misleading statistics. Now that we've put the misuse of statistics in context, let's look at various digital age examples of statistics that are misleading across five distinct, but related, spectrums: media and politics, news, advertising, science, and healthcare. What Is A Misleading Statistic? It is, therefore, argued by global warming opponents that, as there was a 0.1-degree decrease in the global mean temperature over a 14-year period, global warming is disproved. Give researchers access to useful data to properly analyze the spread and impact of misinformation. The case started when the giant pharmaceutical company, Purdue Pharma, launched its new product OxyContin, which they advertised as a safe, non-addictive opioid that was highly effective for pain relief. These studies are very soon contradicted by other important or outlandish findings. Official websites use .govA .gov website belongs to an official government After showing this plot to students, some useful questions could be: Fig. The available information and expert opinion seems to vacillateone year fats are terrible for you and the next they are a health food. It is easy to see a correlation. Incentivize coordination across grantees to maximize reach, avoid duplication, and bring together a diversity of expertise. The issue comes with the second graph that is displayed in the article, in which we see a comparison of full-price sales between The Times and one of its biggest competitors, the Daily Telegraph. Remember, misuse of statistics can be accidental or purposeful. Specific wording patterns have a persuasive effect and induce respondents to answer in a predictable manner. About eight-in-ten U.S. murders in 2021 - 20,958 out of 26,031, or 81% - involved a firearm. Health Misinformation Current Priorities of the U.S. Health (2 days ago) Office of the U.S. There are different ways in which statistics can be misleading that we will detail later. In this case, it can create the wrong idea of a product being healthier than it actually is. Sample size surveys are one example of creating misleading statistics. A slideshow version of the Community Toolkit for educators and other community leaders. The selective bias is slightly more discreet for those who do not read the small lines. Moreover, we believe these kinds of examples are useful in expanding the toolkit of resources available that are in line with other similar resources, such as the book published by Madison etal. Moreover, this is a common topic appearing in tertiary introductory statistics courses, as well as courses on quantitative reasoning. Take this first example of a misleading graph that proves global warming is real. The pandemic of the novel coronavirus has gripped the entire world and engaged people in consuming scientific informationperhaps more so than any other event in history. These are examples of loaded questions., A more accurate way of wording the question would be, Do you support government assistance programs for unemployment? or, (even more neutrally) What is your point of view regarding unemployment assistance?, The latter two examples of the original questions eliminate any inference or suggestion from the poller, and thus, are significantly more impartial. The name and date of birth used in this example are imaginative, used for illustrative purposes, and do not represent an actual patient. By Bernardita Calzon in Data Analysis, Jan 6th 2023, 3) Misleading Statistics Examples In Real Life. Purposeful bias is the deliberate attempt to influence findings without even feigning professional accountability. Taking that into account, what the graph is actually showing is an increase in deaths using firearms after the law was enacted. We note that these examples come from the context of the United States as that is the context the authors are most familiar with, however, from scanning the news, these seem to be issues common across the world during this highly politicized global pandemic where peoples lives and politicians power are in danger. The lack of statistical literacy from the public, paired with the fact that organizations didnt always share accurate statistical information, lead to widespread misrepresentation of data. A study of millions of journal articles shows that their authors are increasingly reporting p-values but are often doing so in a misleading way, according to a study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.P-values are a measure of statistical significance intended to inform scientific conclusions.