Hilda Bastian @hildabastAssociation of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ) Health Journalism 2014, Denver 27 March

Statistically Funny blogspot

Tips for better stories:#StatsFTW!

Absolutely Maybeat Scientific American

Remember data don’t speakfor themselves

Think through the context of what happened, the methods of collection and method of analysis before analyzing the data

With extra academic spin

A good study means….what?

• If it’s the wrong study type, statistics can’t save it• Statistics & methods evolve• Think of studies, study reports & outcomes separately…

Look at each outcome separately

The strength & quality of data vary within a study. And always look for all outcomes not just the ones researchers point you to... especially

Why so manyconflictingstudies….?

Don’t look at one studyin isolation

Chocolate…

Avoidover-precision

Always think about confidence intervals/margins of error, matching use of numbers & language to data certainty (47.23% or just less than half?)

Don’t mistake absence ofevidence for evidence of absence

Lights…

Miller et al, 2014

Independent UK Panel on Breast Cancer Screening, 2012

Miller et al, 2014

Independent UK Panel on Breast Cancer Screening, 2012

Be as critical of the data you want to believe as you are about what you disagree with

The biggest bias we have to deal with is our own.