Analyze reported in a news article, advertisement, or poll from a print source - Statistics Project Example

Analysis of Statistics The essay aims to analyze a statistics reported in a news article to address thevalidity of the statistics and the conclusions reached. To ensure a thorough analysis, the following questions would be followed as a guide for the discourse: (1) “Who says so?” Explain where the statistics come from and what bias the source might have. (2) “How do they know?” Analyze how the data was collected and manipulated.   (3) “What’s missing?” Look for information that has been withheld or buried.

What difference might the missing information make? (4) “Did somebody change the subject?” Carefully examine the conclusion to make sure it is supported by the statistical evidence. Sometimes an interpretation is presented as fact.   (5) “Does it make sense?” Look for and point out anything that does not make sense. Analysis of Statistics An article written by Luo (2010) entitled 99 Weeks Later, Jobless Have Only Desperation published in the New York Times on August 2, 2010 proffered issues pertinent to the status that jobless people face after “they have exhausted the maximum 99 weeks of unemployment insurance benefits that they can claim” (Luo, 2010, par. 4). To analyze the validity of the statistics, the following questions would be addressed according to Darrell Huff’s book How to Lie With Statistics. (1) “Who says so?

” The figures from the article indicating the number of people unemployed or out of work for 99 weeks or more were sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). According to the official website of BLS (2011), it is “the principal Federal agency responsible for measuring labor market activity, working conditions, and price changes in the economy. Its mission is to collect, analyze, and disseminate essential economic information to support public and private decision-making. As an independent statistical agency, BLS serves its diverse user communities by providing products and services that are objective, timely, accurate, and relevant” (BLS: About BLS, 2011, par. 1). In this regard, it is under public scrutiny in terms of maintaining an objective and unbiased stance to provide accurate information about the parameters consisting labor and its movement in the country. (2) “How do they know?

” As indicated, data regarding employment of the labor force is collected through various programs such as: “American Time Use Survey, Business Employment Dynamics, Census of Employment and Wages, Current Employment Statistics, Current Population Survey, Employment Projections, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, Mass Layoff Statistics, and Occupational Employment Statistics” (BLS: ERPD, 2011, par. 1). The varied sources and experience on data gathering, collection, tabulation and interpretation assists in providing accurate information on the employment statistics indicated in the article. (3) “What’s missing?

” The data provided by the BLS, though gathered from various programs, could still reflect a margin of inaccuracy in terms of a fraction of the population who did not report their unemployment status due to shame, embarrassment, or sporadic employment in between the reported periods. (4) “Did somebody change the subject?” Actually, the article aimed to seek additional benefits from the government in terms of extending the unemployment insurance benefits. As indicated in the report, “Senator Debbie Stabenow, Democrat of Michigan, is now working on a bill to help those in the group, a spokesman, Miguel Ayala, said, but the chances of providing them with additional weeks of benefits seem dim” (Luo, 2010, par. 11). In this regard, the statistical information on the number of 99ers out of work on the stipulated time frame seems to be supported by the facts sourced from BLS. (5) “Does it make sense?

” The entire article provided balanced information on the plight of the jobless who had exhausted their benefits from the government. It shed light on the increasing number of hopeless unemployed people wanting to find jobs but could not. Since the financial crisis that continues to affect economies globally, the statistics provided make accurate representation of the real picture of the unemployed sector of the labor force. References Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS). (2011). About BLS.

Retrieved 21 March 2011. -------------------. (2011). Employment Research and Program Development (ERPD). Retrieved 21 March 2011. Luo, M. (2010). “99 Weeks Later, Jobless Have Only Desperation.” New York Times. Retrieved 21 March 2011.