Whenever you are working with statistics, be mindful of the underlying data:
- Who gathered the data? Why are they gathering it?
- How did they collect the data? Was the data self-reported?
- What questions were asked? Did they including leading questions?
- What is the sample size? Is it large enough to be significant?
- Who is reporting the data? Why?
Learn more about thinking critically about statistics:
- Mona Chalabi: 3 Ways to Spot a Bad Statistic: TED talk