Use statistics with confidence.

1. The Joy of Stats
Use statistics with confidence.
#uwslibTalks
Inspiring“sessions” for studentsand staffsharedby expert librarians.

2. This session will cover
Why should I
use statistics?​
How do I find
statistical
data?​
How should I
present
statistics?

3. Why use statistics in your assignments?
Statistics can provide
Facts or
evidence​
Visual interest​
Proof of your
appraisal skills

4. UWS recommendations
Use evidence to add:​
Essay
Writing
• Authority to your point
• Credibility to your argument
• (Visual) interest to your
discussion
Evidence should be:
Report
Writing
• Presented
• Analysed and
• Applied to a specific issue
Source: EffectiveLearning(2013) Essayand Report Writing. [Online] Available:
http://moodle.uws.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=3314&section=3 [Accessed:18 July 2017].

5. You will see statistical data in
Primary Sources
• (the data itself​)
• Official compilations,e.g. Scottish
Health Statistics
• General Interest sources, e.g. Statista
Secondary Sources
• (Interpretationsof the data)
• Journal articles
• Research papers
• Media reports

6. Finding statistical data
 Library’s discoverytool – One
Search
 Books (also check index pages)
 Journal articles
 Other free sources
 Google or similar search engine
 References from others

7. Searching within a source
Check “latest” or similar links/
Search for your topic/
Check A-Z
To see which tables/ data are
available
Also check accompanying report or
narrative – this gives context
Source: InformationStatisticsDivision(2017) ScottishHealthStatistics. [Online]Available:
http://www.healthscotland.com/scotlands-health/index.aspx[Accessed: 18 July 2017].

8. Sample table - Teenage pregnancies
Source: InformationandStatisticsDivision(2017) TeenagePregnancyRatesby Age Group atConception,1994-
2014.[Online]Available:
https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Sexual-Health/Publications/2016-07-05/2016-07-05-TeenPreg-
Summary.pdf[Accessed:18 July 2017].

9. Popular statistics: Statista
Availablein full on campus
Data from over 50 countries
Includes DOWNLOADABLE
dossiers, reports and Top 100
series
Statista:http://www.statista.com/

10. When using statistics in academic work
Ensure you
provide:
Context
• Set the scene
• Advise if limited
impact
Source
• Where you
found the data

11. Context: potential issues – finding data
You may need to
start with broad
search terms then
work through
available tables
Statistical data is
not up-to-date as
it takes time to
collect and
analyse
Statistical data is
only available if
firstly collected
and published

12. Context: potential issues - using data
Avoid poor
usage, e.g.​
• 50% of
the class
are ill
What do
we learn?​
• No. of people?
• Single cause?​
• Impact on
others?

13. Presenting statistics in your text
• Use diagrams,charts,tablesif visual interest enhances
comprehension
• Includeyour analysis,e.g. implicationofthe datadisplayed
Keep presentation logical
and easy to interpret, e.g.
• Includesource of data​(i.e. publicationdetails/reference)
• Add “adaptedfrom”if you’vechangedthe format
If using visual
representations
• Especially if table/ graphyou have copied is not providedby
the authorsof the rest of the work
Check copyright
permissions

14. Referencing your sources
Law students:
OSCOLA
Psychology students:
APA
Everyone else:
UWS Harvard