Step #2: Where Is
The Evidence?
Statistics
You probably use statistics every day. Some examples include:
"Mom, here's my report card! I'm doing better this quarter." Mom
gets last quarter's report card and says, "Not really! This quarter's
grades are lower than the last quarter." The report card grades are
statistics. They can provide evidence of whether the student did better or
worse this quarter.
"Dad, there was a story on the news about a school violence situtaion
today. I guess schools are becoming more violent." But his father
replies, "Actually, the statistics over the last ten years show a decline
in school violence."
Statistics provide evidence of social problems. People may think that
crime is increasing in their city. They should check the crime statistics
for their city. Maybe the crime rate has actually gone down.
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