This week, we will consider some more general areas of poor reasoning. These often occur when interpreting statistics and the results of polls, but in a broader sense, even the language in which we make arguments is subject to distortion, bias, and manipulation.
instructions:
After you have read Chapter 5 and feel you have a handle on fallacies associated with statistics and polls, post a response (200+ words) on the following:
Read this story from the Washington Post in 2012: Romney campaign’s misleading stats: women in the Obama economy. Download Romney campaign’s misleading stats: women in the Obama economy.(I have had to turn the article into a downloadable pdf)
In your post, I am looking to see that you understand the fallacy (or fallacies) the news story is saying Romney’s campaign committed. Was it Small Sample, Unrepresentative Sample, Questionable Statistics, or Questionable Use of Statistics — or is it some combination of these fallacies? Quote (or refer to) specific places in the article that support your points.