May 29, 2012
Getting it right, again
The Herald had a clicky poll on the proposed R-plate restricted-driving legislation, and has reported the results in an unobjectionable paragraph at the end of a good story getting input from experts. I’m not sure that the poll actually adds to the story, but at least it doesn’t subtract from it.
Thomas Lumley (@tslumley) is Professor of Biostatistics at the University of Auckland. His research interests include semiparametric models, survey sampling, statistical computing, foundations of statistics, and whatever methodological problems his medical collaborators come up with. He also blogs at Biased and Inefficient See all posts by Thomas Lumley »
I’d say adding that paragraph to the story is a net loss. Although they mention that it is unscientific, the fact that it is reported lends it some significance . These polls have very little value outside of entertainment and rarely warrant mention in a news story.
12 years ago
Well, yes, anchoring bias and all that. Still, it’s such a big improvement over some of the recent stories that I thought it was worth mentioning.
12 years ago
Sure, I’m all for incremental improvement and a change from ‘wrong’ to ‘not wrong’ is a good start. Let’s hope the next increment is in the same direection.
12 years ago