Bad Science: Bad statistics? The Sunday Times isn't kidding
I was delighted to discover this week that the Times has started an innovative new column titled Bad Statistics. It seems to me to be somewhat lacking in thoroughness. I should like to submit for their consideration an article from the Sunday Times on 14 December. The opening sentence is: "Public opinion has moved sharply in favour of assisted suicide, according to a poll for The Sunday Times." This opening sentence is, I believe, incorrect. The story is based around a YouGov poll of 2,000 people. "More than two-thirds (69%) think the law should be changed ... most strikingly, by four to one (61% to 15%) people said they would consider assisted suicide for themselves if suffering from a terminal disease."How do these figures compare with previous population survey data on euthanasia? Luckily my friend William Lee is an epidemiologist who also researches attitudes to physician-assisted suicide in the same...
Read the whole article on The Guardian - Science
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