The Objectivity of Statistics

Abstract

The publication of the 1988 edition of Social Trends was, as usual, the signal for the ‘serious’ newspapers to regale their readers with what they considered to be the more newsworthy snippets of information contained therein. The headlines on household spending power, the gap between the rich and poor and on AIDS show what the journalists thought was newsworthy in the 220 pages. The social scientist, while also welcoming this annual publication as a treasure-trove of statistical information, has other interests in the material.