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Home > Statistics Every Writer Should Know > The Stats Board > Discusssion

statistics
Message posted by Felicity (via 61.12.0.101) on June 11, 2001 at 5:03 AM (ET)

Can you list some of the problems with the statistics in the following statements?

1)Tests reveal that half(50%) of our nations school leaver are below average in reading and writing.

2.)A leading enviromental group recently claimed that only 30% of Australia's land mass was covered by forest, whereas a leading business organisation claimed the figure was 7%.

I can't see any, can you help me?


READERS RESPOND:
(In chronological order. Most recent at the bottom.)

Re: statistics
Message posted by JG (via 128.8.23.172) on June 11, 2001 at 10:40 AM (ET)

1. Average of what population and how is average defined - mean, median, etc.

2. What land mass. Most of Australia is desert so that 7% of the total land mass seems reasonable.



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