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Description
The truth behind statistics. According to a survey, 20% of people drink coffee while brushing their teeth. Actually we made that up - though it'll be interesting to see if it catches on all the sam...e. In More or Less this week, you can hear more about all those surveys that "reveal" such fascinating - and often just as questionable - facts about us. The World Cup, for example, added vigour to the nation's sex lives, according to one survey; and also ruined them as men preferred the football on TV, according to another. We also continue to examine the way that statistical evidence is used in government policy making - or not, and conclude that quite often the evidence is as likely to give as much weight to the views of the bloke in the pub as to the standards expected by social science. When trying to find out if something will work - be it a new policy, a new drug, a new teaching method - the gold standard of evidence is what comes out of a properly conducted random controlled trial. How often to do we use this technique? In medicine, all the time. Elsewhere, we use it only erratically. Without it, how easy is it to misinterpret the evidence? Using examples from street lighting and medicine, we investigate the commitment to finding out what really works.
The truth behind statistics. According to a survey, 20% of people drink coffee while brushing their teeth. Actually we made that up - though it'll be interesting to see if it catches on all the sam...e. In More or Less this week, you can hear more about all those surveys that "reveal" such fascinating - and often just as questionable - facts about us. The World Cup, for example, added vigour to the nation's sex lives, according to one survey; and also ruined them as men preferred the football on TV, according to another. We also continue to examine the way that statistical evidence is used in government policy making - or not, and conclude that quite often the evidence is as likely to give as much weight to the views of the bloke in the pub as to the standards expected by social science. When trying to find out if something will work - be it a new policy, a new drug, a new teaching method - the gold standard of evidence is what comes out of a properly conducted random controlled trial. How often to do we use this technique? In medicine, all the time. Elsewhere, we use it only erratically. Without it, how easy is it to misinterpret the evidence? Using examples from street lighting and medicine, we investigate the commitment to finding out what really works.
| Series: | More or less |
|---|---|
| Episode | 6 |
| First transmission date: | 2006-07-27 |
| Published: | 2006 |
| Rights Statement: | Rights owned or controlled by The Open University |
| Restrictions on use: | This material can be used in accordance with The Open University conditions of use. A link to the conditions can be found at the bottom of all OU Digital Archive web pages. |
| Duration: | 00:24:16 |
| + Show more... | |
| Producer: | Michael Blastland |
| Presenter: | Andrew Dilnot |
| Contributors: | A. W Dilnot; Tim Harford; Rory Cellan-Jones; Paul Marchant; Stephen Senn; David Walker |
| Publisher: | BBC Open University |
| Subject terms: | Mathematical statistics; Social sciences--Statistical methods |
| Production number: | AUDA111B |
| Available to public: | no |
