Devious Data and Iffy Information. This item is unavailable.Devious Data and Iffy Information

During the lead up to the EU referendum, the US presidential campaign and the UK general election data were often chosen in a very selective way and meshed within decidedly partisan contexts to produce deceitful information. Dubious advocacy abounded. This book is intended to help combat this - aimed at readers who would like to be more confident in understanding the news through better data analysis and more thoughtful information interpretation. The book isn’t for the numerical geek – or indeed for any sort of geek! The book will help you: • understand why different descriptions of data are employed • identify the sleights of hand employed in data selection and data use • assess the validity of questionnaire reports • understand the weaknesses of both forecasting and the criticisms of forecasting • identify where illogical conclusions are being drawn • assess the appropriateness of the context associated with a news item • call on your own knowledge to help you assess the worthiness of a news item • assess the credibility of the authors of news items and of their host media channels

After completing a PhD in physics at the University of Nottingham Dr Finlay spent an extensive period advising the Ministry of Defence in cold-war logistics and 5 years working for BAT Industries project managing operational research and IT studies and becoming closely involved in strategic management. He moved to Loughborough University where he taught operational research, IT and strategic management, retiring as Professor of Strategic Information Systems. Paul has published 7 books and authored over 100 academic papers, including contributions to the European Journal of OR, the Journal of the Operational Research Society, MIS Quarterly and the Journal of Strategic Information Systems. He has always been interested in current affairs and is an avid consumer of news. In this book he continues the cross- and inter-disciplinary outlook he has taken throughout his career. Paul is very relaxed when it comes to discussing his work and always likes to hear from readers. If you have any questions or comments about Devious Data & Iffy Information he would love to hear from you at: p.n.finlay@btinternet.com.