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Using Flint, Michigan, lead data in introductory statistics
Author(s) -
Loux Travis,
Gibson Andrew K.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
teaching statistics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.425
H-Index - 13
eISSN - 1467-9639
pISSN - 0141-982X
DOI - 10.1111/test.12187
Subject(s) - statistics , descriptive statistics , univariate , data set , data collection , sampling (signal processing) , percentile , set (abstract data type) , computer science , statistics education , summary statistics , data science , mathematics , multivariate statistics , filter (signal processing) , computer vision , programming language
Although the use of real‐world data sets is encouraged when teaching statistics, it can be difficult for instructors to find meaningful data for introducing students to univariate descriptive statistics such as the mean, median, and percentiles. The recent lead contamination of the water supply in Flint, Michigan, provides a real‐life data set with important implications hinging on basic statistics such as these. The data set can also be used as a starting point for discussions on sampling design, data collection, and ethical data practices.