Statistics — the things that can make a well-formed sentence boring as well as extremely useful at the same time. These are basic numbers that represent something bigger and can be interpreted in many ways, depending on the context. They are often obtained from government, non-profit, private and/or research organisations by a newspaper’s editorial team (writers, reporters, editors, photographers and designers), who then use it to create news stories. The task that makes using this data difficult is the fact that it’s important to simplify jargons, without making them seem less or more important than they are in reality.
Numbers form the backbone of such stories, which often include expert opinions to tell the readers how the issue at hand affects them. Statistics are that part of a story which gives the paper credibility, but at the same time, can be twisted and misused too. Here are three questions you can ask yourself while reading a newspaper article riddled with numbers and keep a check on those who claim to be telling you the truth.
Who did this research?
Remember, it takes a lot of work to do research, especially when it’s about issues regarding health, crime, civic, court, education or environment. It is next to impossible that the organisation would share this data anonymously or that the newspaper would be unaware of the source of data they are using to build the story. However, if the newspaper is not clearly mentioning the source, something could be fishy. Read the story carefully and find the source of the information being shared.
Are big claims being made?
If (hypothetically) your newspaper claims that 40% kids in state schools are malnourished, you need to look beyond and see how many schools were included in the survey and how many kids were screened? If you find that only 500 students, in 60 schools, were included in the study, do ask yourself — is this a big claim being made based on small numbers? 40% of 500 is 200, which reflects badly on the system — agreed. However, the news is supposed to say things they way they are and making a claim about all state school students based on screening 500 students is not the right way to do things. Percentages, without explaining the sample of the study is a big no!
Where are the details?
Pay close attention to the details mentioned about the people who were questioned in the study, their demographics, as well as the areas covered. In the above example of school students, if the research was done in rural schools and a Mumbai newspaper is covering the issue, they are obligated to explain and give context to the research and the numbers because many factors can be used to argue that the statistics of rural Maharashtra cannot be used to explain what is happening in Mumbai.
You, as a reader, need to be vigilant enough to spot these things and be a resourceful reader to yourself as well as your community. We know you can do it and we are always here to help — just leave your questions in the comments!
This article is a part of a series about the world of newspapers— read part one here.
Jagruti Verma
With a little experience of feature writing and subbing on her resume, Jagruti strives to get better with each piece of writing she works on. You can connect with her on Twitter at @JagrutiVerma
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