Some Common Problems with Statistics in Papers and Presentations

It is always a struggle to write papers and talks that contain statistical information as the presentation methods used for analytic results do have an impact on the comprehension of the reader or audience. Furthermore, fundamental statistics are often misunderstood or obscured by the author rather than clearly explained. The fact that one can never be sure of the statistical sophistication of a reader or audience makes it easy for the author to write material that muddles rather than clarifies the results. Then, the reader or audience is left wondering if the author’s work is just “lies, damn lies, or statistics”. This paper provides a short discourse on fundamental statistical theory, intermixed with a few thoughts and suggestions on the use and presentation of statistical results. After all, any paper or presentation is useless if the intended audience misunderstands or misinterprets the information being presented.