This document provides guidance on finding statistics for speeches. It discusses why statistics should be used in speeches and outlines some key sources for government and public opinion statistics in Hong Kong and elsewhere. These include the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department, the Asian Development Bank, China Statistics, and the Pew Research Center. The document encourages using statistics fairly and directs readers to additional resources on a course guide website.

1. developmental material for speeches
Prepared for GCPS 1005
FINDING STATISTICS

2. “There are three kinds of lies:
lies, damned lies, and statistics.”
– Benjamin Disraeli (1804-81), British statesman and novelist
Finding
Definitions &
Quotations
Finding
Statistics
Finding
Images
Citing Your
Sources
(APA style)
Benjamin Disraeli, Lord Beaconsfield. (2009). In E. Knowles (Ed.), The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations (7th ed.). Retrieved from
http://0-www.oxfordreference.com.hkbulib.hkbu.edu.hk/view/10.1093/acref/9780199237173.001.0001/q-author-00001-00000992
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SPEAKING
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3. OVERVIEW
in this section:
 Why use statistics?
Finding
Definitions &
Quotations
Finding
Statistics
 Government & other official statistics
 Public opinion statistics
Finding
Images
Citing Your
Sources
(APA style)
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4. why use statistics?
Finding
Definitions &
Quotations
 Statistics are numerically formulated
facts
Finding
Statistics
 When used well, they give your ideas
more impact
 They are especially useful when you
need make your point more precisely
and impressively
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Images
 You should always use statistics fairly
in your work
Citing Your
Sources
(APA style)
http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4078/4769199272_a15665526b_m.jpg
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5. government statistics
 The Hong Kong Government’s Census and Statistics Department
provides detailed official statistics on a myriad of topics: population,
labour, trade, energy, transport and more
 Their website is a great source
for statistics on all topics
relating to Hong Kong
Finding
Definitions &
Quotations
Finding
Statistics
Finding
Images
Citing Your
Sources
(APA style)
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SPEAKING
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6. other official statistics
Depending on your topic, you may find these other statistical sources
useful
 Asian Development Bank Statistical Database System - essential
social, economic, and financial indicators relating to the Asian
Development Bank’s developing member countries
 中國統計數據庫 China Statistics- contains several database groups
covering business and financial information
 CSMAR系列數據庫- provides economic data on China, company
financials, and stock market data in more than 60 subsets
Finding
Definitions &
Quotations
Finding
Statistics
Finding
Images
Citing Your
Sources
(APA style)
GCPS 1005
PUBLIC
SPEAKING
Statistics
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7. finding public opinion statistics
Finding
Definitions &
Quotations
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Statistics
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Images
for HONG KONG
for ELSEWHERE
The HKU Public Opinion
Programme was established to
collect and study public opinion
on various topics
The Pew Research Center
focuses mainly on the US, but
includes a “Global” section
Citing Your
Sources
(APA style)
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8. resources
Links to all of the materials covered
(and a few more!) are available on the
course guide:
http://hkbu.libguides.com/GCPS1005
Click on the “Statistics” tab
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Definitions &
Quotations
Finding
Statistics
Finding
Images
Citing Your
Sources
(APA style)
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9. image credit
Slide 4: “Statistics about statistics about…” by Frits Ahlefeldt-Laurvig, available
under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical-NoDerivatives 2.0
license at http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4078/4769199272_a15665526b_z.jpg
Finding
Definitions &
Quotations
Finding
Statistics
Finding
Images
Citing Your
Sources
(APA style)
GCPS 1005
PUBLIC
SPEAKING
Statistics
9