Today is rung 5 of 9 on this topic
Evaluating scientific and statistical claims
Can do: Reads a study or a statistic and identifies sample, method, effect size and what wasn't measured.
Why it matters
The claims that shape their adult decisions — health, money, politics — arrive as statistics. Evaluating them is a defensive skill.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Accepts any claim with a number attached, and can't distinguish a study of thirty people from one of thirty thousand.
⏱️ Two-minute check
Show a health headline. "How many people? Compared to what? How big was the effect?"
Solid looks like: Asks for the sample, the control and the size of the difference before believing it.
The full activity for this topic · 30 minutes
Find the Study Behind the Headline
- 1Read the headline and note what it implies.
- 2Find the actual study — usually linked, often not what the headline says.
- 3Note sample size, control group, duration and effect size.
- 4Compare relative and absolute risk. Headlines almost always use relative.
- 5Rewrite the headline honestly and see how much less exciting it is.
If it's too hard
Compare two headlines about the same study.
If it's too easy
Read the abstract and methods properly and identify one real limitation.
Say this
"A 50% increase in what? From what to what? Give me the actual numbers."