April 8, 2013
Stat of the Week Competition: April 6 – 12 2013
Each week, we would like to invite readers of Stats Chat to submit nominations for our Stat of the Week competition and be in with the chance to win an iTunes voucher.
Here’s how it works:
- Anyone may add a comment on this post to nominate their Stat of the Week candidate before midday Friday April 12 2013.
- Statistics can be bad, exemplary or fascinating.
- The statistic must be in the NZ media during the period of April 6 – 12 2013 inclusive.
- Quote the statistic, when and where it was published and tell us why it should be our Stat of the Week.
Next Monday at midday we’ll announce the winner of this week’s Stat of the Week competition, and start a new one.
The fine print:
- Judging will be conducted by the blog moderator in liaison with staff at the Department of Statistics, The University of Auckland.
- The judges’ decision will be final.
- The judges can decide not to award a prize if they do not believe a suitable statistic has been posted in the preceeding week.
- Only the first nomination of any individual example of a statistic used in the NZ media will qualify for the competition.
- Individual posts on Stats Chat are just the opinions of their authors, who can criticise anyone who they feel deserves it, but the Stat of the Week award involves the Department of Statistics more officially. For that reason, we will not award Stat of the Week for a statistic coming from anyone at the University of Auckland outside the Statistics department. You can still nominate and discuss them, but the nomination won’t be eligible for the prize.
- Employees (other than student employees) of the Statistics department at the University of Auckland are not eligible to win.
- The person posting the winning entry will receive a $20 iTunes voucher.
- The blog moderator will contact the winner via their notified email address and advise the details of the $20 iTunes voucher to that same email address.
- The competition will commence Monday 8 August 2011 and continue until cancellation is notified on the blog.
Rachel Cunliffe is the co-director of CensusAtSchool and currently consults for the Department of Statistics. Her interests include statistical literacy, social media and blogging. See all posts by Rachel Cunliffe »
Statistic: Kiwiblog reported
“ALAC’s own surveys showed a drop in the youth drinking rate from 53% in 2006 to (68% in) 2010”
(The bit in brackets is my addition to make the sentence have meaning).
If you look at table 8 in the relevant ALAC report
http://www.alcohol.org.nz/sites/default/files/research-publications/pdfs/2009-10-Annual-Summary-Report-FINAL.pdf
The non-drinkers (aged 12-17) are reported as
2005/06 47%
2006/07 48%
2007/08 48%
2008/09 50%
2009/10 68%
The statistic quoted in Kiwiblog implies, by the widish time frame (2006 – 2010), that the drop happened over a number of years when in fact the rate had been reasonably constant up until 2009/2010 when there was a big change. This doesn’t suggest a change in youth behaviour but a change in how the survey was done or analysed.
The 68% non-drinkers is barely credible.
In 2009/10 if the 13-17s are still 50% drinkers (as they were measured in 2008/09) and the entering 12 yo are 100% non-drinkers than the 12-17 rate of non-drinking would be
1/6*100+5/6*50 = 58% << 68%
(My understanding is that for the 2009/10 survey they over-sampled young Pacific People and got them by quota sampling i.e. if they are at home get them to do the survey otherwise ring another household. But I can't recall nor re-find where I saw that.)
Source: ALAC via Kiwiblog
Date: April 10
Because it’s a statistics that stretches credibility but it’s repeatedly published because it supports a point of view.
11 years ago
Statistic: The quote should be
“ALAC’s own surveys showed a drop in the youth drinking rate from 53% in 2006 to (32% in) 2010″
where the stuff in brackets is my addition.
Source: Kiwiblog
Date: April 10
11 years ago
Statistic: The quote should be
“ALAC’s own surveys showed a drop in the youth drinking rate from 53% in 2006 to (32% in) 2010″
where the stuff in brackets is my addition.
Source: Stat of the Week Competition: April 6 – 12 2013
Date: April 10
This isn’t really a new “stat of the week”. It’s just fixing up my own bungle.
11 years ago