Do you consider yourself a savvy shopper?

Are you a discriminating reader of advertisements?

Do you easily sift through the sound bites of society to find the truth?

Come with me on a journey into the fascinating world of statistics...

Task

You have been assigned to a group of 5 fellow seekers of truth. You will be searching web newspapers for articles and advertisements that report statistics about different subject areas.  Each individual will analyze their articles.  The group will discuss everyone's results, choose the best, make suggestions for improving the reliability of the information, and produce both an oral and written report.    

Process

A.  Within your group assign each person a role from the following list:

    1.  New York advertising agent
    2.  Politician living in Washington, D.C.
    3.  Southern health guru
    4.  Midwest stock broker
    5.  Western athlete
    6.  English speaking foreign attaché who is homesick

B.  Search the internet using the links under Resources for three articles or advertisements with statistics pertinent to your persona.  Print these articles.

C.  Analyze your article using the following questions as guidelines:
    1.  Who is the target audience?
    2.  Who is the source for the information?  Are they believable?
    3.  Does the source have an agenda that would cause the data to be biased?
    4.  Was the data gathered using reliable statistical methods?
    5.  If people were surveyed, what medium was used?
    6.  If an average is quoted, does it say which one?  If not, which do you believe was used?
    7.  If there is a chart or graph, is it fairly drawn?  No distortions?
    8.  Are your emotions or intellect being appealed to?
    9.  Be skeptical of everything--summarize anything you think is pertinent to the group's
         understanding of the information.

Do not limit yourself to these questions.

D.  Meet with your group again.  Discuss your analyses of the articles with the group.

E.  As a group, choose each person's best analysis.  As a group, brainstorm ideas for improving the reliability of the statistics.  Use a word processor to type your chosen analysis and reliability ideas.

F.  The group will meet again, word process a brief summary of your group's insights into the world of internet newspapers.

G.  Choose one or two people to present the group findings to the class as an oral presentation.

H.  Complete an evaluation form for each member of the group.

Resources
 
1.  New York advertising agent

 The New York Times on the Web
  New York Post Online Edition
  USA TODAY
 Chicago Sun-Times Online

2.  Politician living in Washington, D.C.

 washingtonpost.com: News Front
 The  Roll Call Online
  The Washington Times-Front Page
 USA TODAY

3.  Southern health guru

 USA TODAY
 Alabama Live To Your Health
 Charleston Daily Mail
 Miami Herald Online

4.  Midwest stock broker

 USA TODAY
   Chicago Tribune
 Chicago Sun-Times Online
 The Akron Beacon Journal's Home on the Web
 Detroit Free Press - The Freep

5.  Western athlete
 USA TODAY
 Los Angeles Times Web Site
 Welcome to StarNet
 Oregon Live -- Your Home in Oregon -- 24 hours a day
 

6.  English speaking foreign attaché
 USA TODAY
 Electronic Telegraph | Front Page
 CHANGING TIMES
 

Evaluation

            MAXIMUM POINTS POSSIBLE--40 POINTS

Individual Points:
    1.  Articles:
        a.  3 articles within the correct persona and category--10 points
        b.  Less than 3 articles or incorrect category--0 points

    2.  Analysis:
        a.  Complete analysis and improvement suggestions using a word processor--10 points
        b.  Incomplete analysis and/or no word processing or suggestions--5 points
        c.  No analysis--0 points

Group Points:
    1.  Written
        a.  All persona represented correctly--10 points
        b.  All persona represented but missing analyses--5 points
        c.  Missing persona--2 points
 
    2.  Oral
        a.  Oral report presented--5 points
        b.  No oral report--0 points

Individual Points from the group's evaluation of your contribution:
    1.  The "average" of your choosing from the evaluations--maximum 5 points
 
Conclusion