If you haven’t already bought or read Ben Goldacre’s delightful book ‘Bad Science’ (ISBN 978-0-00-724019-7, published by Fourth Estate, HarperCollins Publishers, 2008) then make it one of your new year resolutions to do so.
The book comprises over 300 pages and is written in a relaxed and clear style without scientific detail. The back cover captures what the book is about: ‘Ben Goldacre masterfully dismantles the dodgy science behind some the great drug trials, court cases and missed opportunities of our time, but he also goes further: out of the bullshit he shows us the fascinating story of how we know what we know, and gives us the tools to uncover bad science for ourselves’.
The key to good and bad science is how evidence is employed. Using a wide range of examples in 15 chapters Goldacre re-iterates time and again the need to be able to make trustworthy evidence-based decisions. The author notes that obtaining and interpreting evidence is not taught in schools. This may have implications for the way in which students are taught statistics and the use of statistical skills, not just in schools but also in higher education in the UK.
This book could provide the stimulus for teachers to re-examine the way introductory statistics is taught to students at all levels.
