Statistical Assessment Service
Encyclopedia
Statistical Assessment Service (STATS) is a non-profit
educational organization, based in Washington, DC, which analyzes and critiques the presentation of scientific findings and statistical evidence in the news media
.
, a professor of communications at George Mason University
. According to the organization's website, to which it posts the majority of its research, its goal is to help correct "scientific misinformation in the media resulting from bad science, politics, or a simple lack of information or knowledge; and to act as a resource for journalists and policy makers on major scientific issues and controversies". As Lichter related to the Baltimore Sun in 1998, "journalists are deluged with numbers representing findings in fields they're not familiar with". Its sister organization is the Center for Media and Public Affairs
, also affiliated with George Mason.
, and STATS.org editor Trevor Butterworth, who is also listed as a senior fellow, and writes for the Huffington Post. , other senior fellows include Maia Szalavitz, a contributor to Reason
magazine, and Stephen Rose. The first director of STATS was David Murray, who previously worked for the Heritage Foundation
and was later chief scientist for the United States Office of National Drug Control Policy
.
, Sarah Scaife Foundation
, Earhart Foundation
, and the Castle Rock Foundation
. STATS does not accept funding from private companies.
, used by The New York Times
and Forbes
, which claimed that almost half of the alcohol industry's revenue came from underage drinkers. According to STATS, American teenagers who drink alcohol would each have to consume more than 1,000 drinks per year for this to be true. STATS has also disagreed with recommendations from Time
that parents should discontinue use of soft vinyl toys, teethers, and similar products containing phthalates
, pointing out that phthalates in children's toys have been cleared for use by both the Consumer Product Safety Commission
and the European Union
's Institute for Health and Consumer Protection
. The annual list has received coverage from The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times, among other news organizations.
During election years, STATS is often quoted in newspaper articles about the use of statistics in political rhetoric. During the presidential election of 2004, the organization challenged claims by both George W. Bush
and John Kerry
at the request of the Associated Press
.
In 2001, Lichter and his staff published It Ain't Necessarily So, a book about the media's coverage of a range of topics from crime statistics
to the 2001 anthrax attacks
. The Philadelphia Inquirer
called it "a solid critique of the way data-based reports and studies are presented in the media", while Salon.com felt that the book employed “the very same tactics that it finds so objectionable when used by journalists and publishers”.
In 2007 STATS sponsored a survey of climate scientists, which was conducted by Harris International. The survey found that most climate scientists believe that human-induced global warming is occurring, although there is disagreement about its consequences, and few trust the popular media coverage of climate change
.
A 2009 article in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel argued that STATS's coverage of the chemical Bisphenol A
verged on advocacy for the chemical industry. On the STATS website, Lichter posted a detailed response disputing the Journal-Sentinel article, calling its reporting and logic "flawed".
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
educational organization, based in Washington, DC, which analyzes and critiques the presentation of scientific findings and statistical evidence in the news media
News media
The news media are those elements of the mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public.These include print media , broadcast news , and more recently the Internet .-Etymology:A medium is a carrier of something...
.
Overview
STATS was founded in 1994 by S. Robert LichterSamuel Robert Lichter
S. Robert Lichter is Professor of Communication at George Mason University, where he directs the Center for Media and Public Affairs, which conducts scientific studies of the news and entertainment media, and the Statistical Assessment Service , which works to improve the quality of statistical...
, a professor of communications at George Mason University
George Mason University
George Mason University is a public university based in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, south of and adjacent to the city of Fairfax. Additional campuses are located nearby in Arlington County, Prince William County, and Loudoun County...
. According to the organization's website, to which it posts the majority of its research, its goal is to help correct "scientific misinformation in the media resulting from bad science, politics, or a simple lack of information or knowledge; and to act as a resource for journalists and policy makers on major scientific issues and controversies". As Lichter related to the Baltimore Sun in 1998, "journalists are deluged with numbers representing findings in fields they're not familiar with". Its sister organization is the Center for Media and Public Affairs
Center for Media and Public Affairs
The Center for Media and Public Affairs is a self-described nonpartisan and nonprofit research and educational organization that is affiliated with George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. It was founded in 1985 by political scientists Dr. S. Robert Lichter and his ex-wife, the late Dr....
, also affiliated with George Mason.
Personnel
Lichter serves as the organization's president. Other personnel include director of research Rebecca Goldin, a professor of mathematical sciences at George Mason and the Ruth Michler Fellow at Cornell UniversityCornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, and STATS.org editor Trevor Butterworth, who is also listed as a senior fellow, and writes for the Huffington Post. , other senior fellows include Maia Szalavitz, a contributor to Reason
Reason
Reason is a term that refers to the capacity human beings have to make sense of things, to establish and verify facts, and to change or justify practices, institutions, and beliefs. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, language, ...
magazine, and Stephen Rose. The first director of STATS was David Murray, who previously worked for the Heritage Foundation
Heritage Foundation
The Heritage Foundation is a conservative American think tank based in Washington, D.C. Heritage's stated mission is to "formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong...
and was later chief scientist for the United States Office of National Drug Control Policy
Office of National Drug Control Policy
The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy , a former cabinet level component of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, was established in 1989 by the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988...
.
Fundraising
The organization's operating budget comes from politically conservative charitable foundations including the Carthage FoundationCarthage Foundation
The Carthage Foundation is one of the American Scaife Foundations. It is controlled by Richard Mellon Scaife. The foundation does not award grants to individuals. It concentrates its efforts towards causes focused on public policy at a national and international level. From 1985 to 2003 the...
, Sarah Scaife Foundation
Sarah Scaife Foundation
The Sarah Scaife Foundation is one of the American Scaife Foundations. It is controlled by Richard Mellon Scaife. The foundation does not award grants to individuals. It concentrates its efforts towards causes focused on public policy at a national and international level...
, Earhart Foundation
Earhart Foundation
The Earhart Foundation is a private charitable foundation that funds research and scholarship. It was founded in 1929 by oil executive Harry Boyd Earhart.- History :...
, and the Castle Rock Foundation
Castle Rock Foundation
The Castle Rock Foundation is a conservative foundation started in 1993 with an endowment of $36.6M from the Adolph Coors Foundation. It ranked as Colorado's 15th largest foundation by assets at the end of 2001...
. STATS does not accept funding from private companies.
Activities
STATS produces an annual list called the "Dubious Data Awards", highlighting egregious factual inaccuracies in news reporting. In 2006, it challenged a study by the Center on Addiction and Substance AbuseCenter on Addiction and Substance Abuse
The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University was established in 1992 by Joseph A. Califano, Jr. The stated official goals of the organization are:...
, used by The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
and Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
, which claimed that almost half of the alcohol industry's revenue came from underage drinkers. According to STATS, American teenagers who drink alcohol would each have to consume more than 1,000 drinks per year for this to be true. STATS has also disagreed with recommendations from Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
that parents should discontinue use of soft vinyl toys, teethers, and similar products containing phthalates
Phthalates
Phthalates , or phthalate esters, are esters of phthalic acid and are mainly used as plasticizers . They are used primarily to soften polyvinyl chloride...
, pointing out that phthalates in children's toys have been cleared for use by both the Consumer Product Safety Commission
Consumer Product Safety Commission
The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission is an independent agency of the United States government created in 1972 through the Consumer Product Safety Act to protect "against unreasonable risks of injuries associated with consumer products." The CPSC is an independent agency that does...
and the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
's Institute for Health and Consumer Protection
Institute for Health and Consumer Protection
The Institute for Health and Consumer Protection or IHCP, located in Ispra, Italy, is one of the seven institutes of the Joint Research Centre , a Directorate-General of the European Commission ....
. The annual list has received coverage from The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times, among other news organizations.
During election years, STATS is often quoted in newspaper articles about the use of statistics in political rhetoric. During the presidential election of 2004, the organization challenged claims by both George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
and John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
at the request of the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
.
In 2001, Lichter and his staff published It Ain't Necessarily So, a book about the media's coverage of a range of topics from crime statistics
Crime statistics
Crime statistics attempt to provide statistical measures of the crime in societies. Given that crime is usually secretive by nature, measurements of it are likely to be inaccurate....
to the 2001 anthrax attacks
2001 anthrax attacks
The 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States, also known as Amerithrax from its Federal Bureau of Investigation case name, occurred over the course of several weeks beginning on Tuesday, September 18, 2001, one week after the September 11 attacks. Letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to...
. The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Philadelphia Inquirer is a morning daily newspaper that serves the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area of the United States. The newspaper was founded by John R. Walker and John Norvell in June 1829 as The Pennsylvania Inquirer and is the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the...
called it "a solid critique of the way data-based reports and studies are presented in the media", while Salon.com felt that the book employed “the very same tactics that it finds so objectionable when used by journalists and publishers”.
In 2007 STATS sponsored a survey of climate scientists, which was conducted by Harris International. The survey found that most climate scientists believe that human-induced global warming is occurring, although there is disagreement about its consequences, and few trust the popular media coverage of climate change
Media coverage of climate change
Media coverage of climate change has significant effects on public opinion on climate change, as it mediates the scientific opinion on climate change that the global instrumental temperature record shows increase in recent decades and that the trend is caused mainly by human-induced emissions of...
.
A 2009 article in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel argued that STATS's coverage of the chemical Bisphenol A
Bisphenol A
Bisphenol A is an organic compound with two phenol functional groups. It is used to make polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins, along with other applications....
verged on advocacy for the chemical industry. On the STATS website, Lichter posted a detailed response disputing the Journal-Sentinel article, calling its reporting and logic "flawed".
External links
- STATS official website
- Statistical Assessment Service on SourceWatch