The latest “Bad Science” column by Ben Goldacre explains the role of confidence intervals in statistical studies, and gives an example from the British media of how reporters ignore them. I’ve discussed this issue previously (see, for instance, the Resource below), but mainly in the context of public opinion polling. However, any study that uses sampling to draw a conclusion about a population will have a confidence level and margin of error. Fallacy Files, 2011-08-20

• Ben Goldacre, “Unemployment is rising — or is that statistical noise?“, Bad Science, 2011-08-19; Also available on Ben’s Bad Science blog.
• Fallacy Watch: How to Read a Poll