MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTER SCIENCE
Should Statistical Sampling Be Used in the United States Census?
Viewpoint: Yes, statistical sampling offers a more accurate method—at much lower cost—for determining population than does physical enumeration.
Viewpoint: No, the Supreme Court ruled that statistical sampling to calculate the population for apportionment violates the Census Act of 1976.
Statistics—the mathematical science of analyzing numerical information—is vital to the practice of all the empirical sciences. No modern science tries to account for the complexity of nature without using statistical methods, which typically provide investigators with a numerical outcome along with an analysis of the margin of accuracy of that outcome. With the help of computers, statistical techniques for collecting and analyzing large, complicated data sets have become very sophisticated and have proved to be reliable and effective for scientific researchers, inventors, and engineers working on problems in such diverse fields as economics, physics, and pharmaceuticals.
The popular perception of statistics, however, starkly contrasts with its valued role in the sciences. Statistics has often been dismissed as an unreliable and sinister ("lies, damned lies, and statistics") strategy for manipulating data to support a pre-determined point of view. While statistical techniques are quietly and successfully being used in many areas of modern life, one that most people are familiar (and perhaps uncomfortable) with is polling.
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