Lesson 1: Anecdotes vs. Data

Objective

You will learn the difference between anecdotes and data. You will begin to read articles critically to discern whether the evidence presented is based on anecdotes or data.

Materials

Hans Rosling’s video How Not to Be Ignorant About the World found at: https://www.ted.com/talks/hans_and_ola_rosling_how_not_to_be_ignorant_about_the_world
Article: Miracle at the KK Café (also available in the LMR folder): http://www.sfweekly.com/2002-05-08/news/miracle-at-the-kk-cafe/
Article: Can Trophy Hunting Actually Help Conservation? (also available in the LMR folder): http://conservationmagazine.org/2014/01/can-trophy-hunting-reconciled-conservation/

Vocabulary

anecdote, data

Essential Concepts

Data beat anecdotes. In science, we need to closely examine the quality of evidence in order to make sound conclusions. Anecdotes can contain personal bias, might be carefully selected to represent a particular point of view, and, in general, may be completely different from the general trend.

Lesson

You will watch a portion of Hans Rosling’s video, How Not to Be Ignorant About the World. In the video, Dr. Rosling will ask three questions with multiple choice answers. Play along by pausing the video each time he asks a question. Write the letter of the answer you select for each question in your IDS Journal.
Watch the first 5 minutes and 23 seconds of How Not to Be Ignorant About the World.
After viewing the video, write down your thoughts about the questions below in your IDS Journal:
1. Why did the chimps at the zoo score better than the people?
2. On the second question, Hans Rosling says that “Everyone is aware that there are countries and there are areas where girls have great difficulties, and they are stopped when they go to school.” How could this information influence the answer choice?
3. Why do you think only a few people know the correct answer to these three questions?
Read the following statements:
1. “My skin glows more…I feel pretty confident.” Melissa for Proactiv®
2. “Within four months, I'd lost a grand total of 63 pounds* and was down to my goal weight.” Marianne G. for Nutrisystem®
3. “The customer service is obnoxious. The employees are patronizing, smug, and intractable.” Seymour773 for Bank of America®
Respond to the questions below:
1. Is each product cited in the statements in item #4 a good product? How do you know? For example, is Proactiv® a good skin product?
2. Do you think that each person's experience from each of the statements in item #4 is "typical?" Why or why not?
3. Do you think the company chose each person who made each statement? How do you know?
4. What about all the other product users? How many were successes? How many were failures?
5. How can we answer the questions in (d)?
The statements in item #4 are called testimonials and they are examples of anecdotes. Anecdotes are stories that someone tells about his/her own experience or the experience of someone he/she knows. Anecdotes are good for some things like witness statements in a police report, but are not useful for reaching conclusions about groups of people because the assumptions they are based on are not always true. Their claims are easily debunked. Many anecdotes do not equal data.

Note: Lots of evidence suggests that witness testimony needs to be examined very closely. For centuries, eyewitness testimony has been a crucial part - if not the most effective method - of proving key components of crimes. However, in recent years, organizations like The Innocence Project, which works to exonerate the wrongfully convicted, have called into question the reliability of eyewitness testimony.
On the other hand, data are a series of observations, measurements, or facts. Data are information, and they tell a story.
Do you think the audience's answers to the questions posed in the Hans Rosling video are based on anecdotes or data? How about the correct answers? Why?
You will analyze an article to find out if the claims made are based on anecdotes or data. Choose one of the articles listed below.
Article #1: Miracle at the KK Cafe
Article #2: Can Trophy Hunting Actually Help Conservation?
Based on the title of the article you chose, write down in your IDS Journal what the article will be about.
As you read the article you chose, write a quick summary in your IDS Journal after reading a chunk. You may wish to summarize after 1-2 paragraphs.
Once you finish reading the article, answer the following questions:
1. What was the article about?
2. What claim(s) was/were this article making? Cite examples from the article.
3. Was this article based on anecdotes or data? Cite examples from the article.
4. How believable are the claims?
You will now read the other article, making mental notes about the claims it makes and whether those claims are based on anecdotes or data.
Do what's in the box, then click to check your work.

Now that you have read both articles, which article was based more on anecdotes and which one was based more on data? Explain with examples from the articles. Write your response in your IDS Journal.
Miracle at KK Cafe makes claims that are anecdotal. One example is the testimonial of the woman with ovarian cancer who said the milk kept her hair from falling out. Can Trophy Hunting Actually Help Conservation? uses data to make claims. For example, it cites a study where 86% of hunter said they preferred to hunt in an area where proceeds helped local communities.
Data Beat Anecdotes! What are some reasons why this statement is true? Can you think of a situation where you would need an anecdote? For example, if someone is asked what it is like to walk on the moon, only very few people could tell us. Can you think of another one?

Reflection

What are the essential learnings you are taking away from this lesson?

Homework

You will do a Last Word Review for the words DATA and ANECDOTE.

Last Word Review: Write the word vertically, then come up with a word or phrase for each letter of the word. Each letter of the word should summarize something about what you learned about the topic.