The Mathematics of Real Life: Types of Bias

The Mathematics of Real Life
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The Mathematics of Real Life
Introduction
Awareness of mathematics in practice happens through intentional focus. However, bias is difficult to avoid. Bias refers to personal prejudice, and researchers’ primary goal is to base their findings on facts and not opinions. The two primary types of bias include selection and measurement bias (Module 3, 2022). In particular, measurement bias occurs from errors experienced during real-time sampling. Selection bias occurs when selecting participants, data, or groups of people such that proper randomization is not met. Bias can affect researchers when they are studying or interpreting data from a specific culture. The purpose of this paper is to focus on a news story that uses mathematical findings, uncover potential author bias, and relate bias to reader interpretation.
Part 1: The Story
Step 1: Watch or Read
Adeline et al.’s (2022) “Tracking the Coronavirus Around the U.S.: See How Your State is Doing” shows the daily rates of coronavirus infections and deaths. As of February 28, 2022, over 78 million individuals in the United States of America (USA) confirmed being infected with Covid-19. Sadly, around 940,000 people lost their lives to this deadly viral disease. Some states had higher rates of coronavirus infections than others. For instance, Maine’s rate of infection was 81 cases per 100,000 people, while Tennessee had 27 cases per 100,000 individuals (Adeline et al., 2022). In particular, the rate of Covid-19 infections was significantly influenced by cultural factors. The statistics of coronavirus infections were used to implement preventative measures, such as stay-at-home orders, contact tracing, or rigorous testing. However, today, the situation is better due to vaccination, which has by far suppressed the rate of Covid-19 infections.
Step 2: Identify
Adeline et al.’s article uses mathematical findings to determine the rate of coronavirus infections and deaths in the USA (Adeline et al., 2022). The numbers portray that many people became infected, and others died from Covid-19. Were it not for the vaccine discovery, many individuals who got infected would hardly have survived. Adeline and colleagues use data to show the rates of infections and deaths in the USA as of February 28, 2022. The statistical analysis performed by these researchers is crucial since it guides relevant stakeholders in making proper decisions to save people’s lives. For example, states with high rates of infections implemented lockdown to reduce the spread of Covid-19.
Part 2: Potential Bias
Step 3: Uncover Bias
As learned in Module 3, avoiding bias is not easy. In that light, Adeline et al.’s (2022) article has a pote...