Statistics 12-1-03

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" background="042d05a3.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>Big Ring Media Team, Inc.</B></FONT><B>    </B><B> |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Big Ring Media Team, Inc."><B>home</B></A></div> <bR> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000" background="043d2123.jpg"> <div> Click on this link to return to <A HREF="id40.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Word Watch by Subject">Word Watch by Subject</A>.</div> <div> Click on this link to go to <A HREF="id39.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Word Watch by Date">Word Watch by Date</A>.</div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Statistics 12-1-03</I></div> <div> Using statistics accurately is a critical part of maintaining credibility. Be particularly careful when citing percentages. Try this quick quiz to assess your fluency in percentages. Read the following paragraph, and then answer the questions.</div> <div> In 2002, 27.6 percent of Indiana adults were smokers, while the national average was 22.5 percent. In 1990, 32.8 percent of Hoosier adults were smokers. (Information taken from an article by AP writer Rick Callahan regarding a study by the United Health Foundation.)</div> <div> 1.  In 2002, Indiana's rate of smoking was how much higher than the national average? A: 5.1 percent B: 23 percent C: 5.1 percentage points.</div> <div> 2.  How much did the rate of smoking among Hoosiers decrease from 1990 to 2002? A: 5.2 percent B: 16 percent C: 5.2 percentage points.</div> <div> For both questions, the correct answers are B and C.</div> <div> For Question 1, we subtract the percentage of national smokers from the percentage of Hoosier smokers and divide that by the percentage of national smokers. Here's the math: (27.6-22.5)/22.5=.23.</div> <div> For Question 2, we subtract the 1990 rate from the 2002 rate and divide by the 1990 rate. Here's the math on that one: (32.8-27.6)/32.8=.16.</div> <div> In both cases we multiply the final result by 100 to get the percent of change; .23 becomes 23 percent and .16 becomes 16 percent.</div> <div> The reason that C is also correct in both cases is because it has the correct units, which is percentage <I>points</I>.</div> <div> If you're not comfortable with figures, have someone who is review your text. Accuracy counts.</div> </td> </tr></table></body>