{"title":"Joel Best","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJoel Best\u003c\/strong\u003e offers insightful explorations into the world of statistics, data interpretation, and social myths. His works encourage readers to critically examine the numbers presented in everyday life, revealing the often misleading nature of statistics and popular claims.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePerfect for readers interested in \u003cem\u003eEducation \u0026amp; Reference\u003c\/em\u003e, Best's books blend humour and rigorous analysis, helping to sharpen critical thinking skills and deepen understanding of how facts and figures shape public perception.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"just-the-facts-by-joel-best-9780520421325","title":"Just the Facts","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhy can't we seem to agree on facts? In this brief volume, sociologist Joel Best turns his inimitable eye toward the social construction of facts. He evaluates how facts emerge from our social worlds—including our beliefs, values, tastes, and norms—and according to those worlds' standards. By developing a sociological perspective towards what we think we know, he argues, we can better parse the use of facts and untruths around us.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis book examines how facts are created and supported through science, government, law, and journalism, revealing that facts are all claims. These claims are malleable and can change over time through fact-checking, revision, and sometimes rejection. Best guides us through these processes so that we can question our assumptions and understand why disputes happen in the first place.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn a time of increasing social and political divide, \u003cem\u003eJust the Facts\u003c\/em\u003e urges us to resist defensiveness over our facts and approach our disputes in critical new ways.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46791969210604,"sku":"9780520421325","price":47.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/7433583482373.jpg?v=1756989579"},{"product_id":"stat-spotting-by-joel-best-9780520279988","title":"Stat-Spotting","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDoes a young person commit suicide every thirteen minutes in the United States? Are four million women really battered to death by their husbands or boyfriends each year? Is methamphetamine our number one drug problem today? Alarming statistics bombard our daily lives, appearing in the news, on the Web, seemingly everywhere. But all too often, even the most respected publications present numbers that are miscalculated, misinterpreted, hyped, or simply misleading.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis new edition contains revised benchmark statistics, updated resources, and a new section on the rhetorical uses of statistics, complete with new problems to be spotted and new examples illustrating those problems. Joel Best's bestseller exposes questionable uses of statistics and guides the reader toward becoming a more critical, savvy consumer of news, information, and data.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEntertaining, informative, and concise, \u003ci\u003eStat-Spotting\u003c\/i\u003e takes a commonsense approach to understanding data and doesn't require advanced math or statistics.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47471618457836,"sku":"9780520279988","price":56.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780520279988-stat-spotting.jpg?v=1775248027"},{"product_id":"damned-lies-and-statistics-by-joel-best-9780520274709","title":"Damned Lies and Statistics","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere, by popular demand, is the updated edition to Joel Best's classic guide to understanding how numbers can confuse us. In his new afterword, Best uses examples from recent policy debates to reflect on the challenges to improving statistical literacy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSince its publication ten years ago, \u003cem\u003eDamned Lies and Statistics\u003c\/em\u003e has emerged as the go-to handbook for spotting bad statistics and learning to think critically about these influential numbers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47932139307244,"sku":"9780520274709","price":110.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780520274709-damned-lies-and-statistics.jpg?v=1783853864"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.live\/collections\/joel-best.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}