{"id":26360,"date":"2024-10-15T12:07:57","date_gmt":"2024-10-15T10:07:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/idibell.cat\/?post_type=agenda&p=26360"},"modified":"2024-10-15T12:24:19","modified_gmt":"2024-10-15T10:24:19","slug":"idibellseminars-how-to-lie-with-statistics-to-a-scientist","status":"publish","type":"agenda","link":"https:\/\/idibell.cat\/agenda\/idibellseminars-how-to-lie-with-statistics-to-a-scientist\/","title":{"rendered":"#IDIBELLseminars: How to lie with statistics to a scientist"},"content":{"rendered":"

Beyond qualitative research, all modern science is quantitative. Depending on study design, reporting results is guided by STROBE, CONSORT and other EQUATOR guidelines<\/strong>, aimed to enhancing the quality and transparency of health research, available elsewhere https:\/\/www.equator-network.org\/reporting-guidelines\/<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

However, we need to understand that both mathematics and statistics can be tweaked, as they both can be presented and interpreted in many different ways. It can be shocking to many that the objectivity of presenting data in tables can be masked with figures, more attractive to the eye, but misinterpreted by the brains. By posing figures with varying axes, scales, thresholds, and distributions, literally anyone with a vested interest can exaggerate or mask data, and deceive readers.<\/p>\n

The classical book How to lie with statistics<\/u><\/strong>, written by Darrell Huff (a journalist, not a statistician) in 1954, can be revisited together with the more modern Thinking, Fast and Slow<\/em><\/strong> by psychologist Daniel Kahneman, who was awarded the 2002 Nobel Prize in Economics Sciences, and passed away last March. The later ‘s main thesis is a differentiation between two modes of thought: “System 1” is fast, instinctive and emotional; “System 2” is slower, deliberative, and more logical. When reading papers, both systems cannot be taken for granted, otherwise we misuse results.<\/p>\n

Revisiting some published examples may serve as food for thought to scientists, from PhD candidates to experienced line managers, especially on the best\/most correct way to present data objectively. It is often said: \u201cit takes one thief to catch another thief\u201d. Well, by knowing how to lie with statistics, particularly in papers in predatory journals from windmill editorials, many\u00a0 with soft or even absent peer review, we can better present our own data in the right way.<\/p>\n

Hosted by Cristina Mart\u00ednez – Tobacco control research group<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":26361,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"tags":[78],"class_list":["post-26360","agenda","type-agenda","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-cancer"],"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/idibell.cat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/agenda\/26360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/idibell.cat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/agenda"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/idibell.cat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/agenda"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idibell.cat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/idibell.cat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idibell.cat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}