Critical Thinking and Evaluating Statistics

Transcription

1 Instructions: Critical Thinking and Evaluating Statistics For each study or result, answer the following as applicable: What is the immediate source of the information (i.e. newspaper, etc.)? What is the original source of the information (i.e. poll done by Gallup organization, study done by researchers at MIT and published in a particular journal, etc.)? Is it an Observational Study or a Designed Experiment? What is the research objective? What is the target population for the study? What is the sample? How was the data collected? What descriptive statistics are presented in the article (just list one or two, as applicable)? What is inferred in the article? Do the results seem credible to you? If not, what specifically makes you question the credibility of the results? Some of the articles are very brief, with not much information given. Just do your best to answer the above questions, and note that you may not be able to address all of them. Page 1 of 11

2 1. CDC: Opiod deaths, Source: Tri-City Herald, April 1, 2018 Page 2 of 11

3 2. Puerto Rico hurricane death toll, Source: Tri- City Herald, September 14, 2018 Page 3 of 11

4 3. Spokane school absenteeism, Source: Tri-City Herald, September 14, 2018 Page 4 of 11

5 4. Ugh! Source: Tri-City Herald, September 6, 2018 Page 5 of 11

6 5. Detached dads?, Source: Tri-City Herald, December 20, 2013 Page 6 of 11

7 6. Running vs. Junk Food Source: Men s Fitness magazine, May 2014 Note: the article to the right is what was published in the magazine. A quick Google search led me to the original source, which was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. It requires a paid subscription (no thanks!) to read the whole article, but the abstract is available online for free, and I reproduced it on the following page. Page 7 of 11

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9 7. Happy New Year! Source: Retrieved: 1/02/2017 They found that the hops appear to reduce the production of toxins and harmful fats in the liver that can occur when drinking other alcohol such as spirits. The findings suggest a night of drinking trendy 'hoppy' beers like pale ales, IPA and pilsner style lagers could be better for you than a heavy session on the vodka. Hops in beer can lessen the harm done to the liver following a night of heavy drinking, German scientists have found 'Drinking fermented alcoholic beverages like beer may be less harmful than hard spirits,' said Dr Ina Bergheim, a nutritional scientist at Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, Germany. 'Our data suggests that hops in beer might contribute to this effect of beer.' The researchers, whose findings are published in the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism, gave mice specially brewed beer without hops, beer with high hop content and pure alcohol to mimic a night of binge drinking. Page 9 of 11

10 Some were given just a sweet sugary solution instead of alcohol.they found that the hops appear to reduce the production of toxins and harmful fats in the liver that can occur when drinking other alcohol such as spirits They then looked at the impact the drink had on their livers, blood and small intestines two and 12 hours after drinking. They found that the mice who were fed the beer with hops had less build-up of fat in their liver, which can affect its ability to clear toxins from the blood. These mice also showed signs that their livers were less inflamed than the mice who had the other alcohol. They also had lower levels of molecules known as induced nitric oxide synthases, which have been found to have a role in causing headaches like migraines. While the researchers did not look directly at whether the hops could reduce the symptoms of a hangover, they showed they do appear to limit damage to the liver. It suggests that drinking beer with high hop content can help to keep at least some of the elements that make you feel lousy the morning after at bay. Dr Bergheim said she and her colleagues are now hoping to look at the effects hops might have on long term liver damage that comes from long periods of heavy drinking. She said: 'Whether these effects are found in chronic settings and humans, too, will have to be determined in future studies.' Note: See following for abstract of journal article: Page 10 of 11

11 Source: Page 11 of 11