Each month, for example, government statistical offices release the latest numerical information on unemployment and inflation. Economists and financial advisors as well as policy makers in government and business study these data to make informed decisions. Doctors must understand the origin and trustworthiness of the data that appear in medical journals if they are to offer their patiens the most effective treatment. Politicians rely on data from polls of public opinion. Market research data that reveal consumer tastes influence business decisions.
Farmers study data from field trials of new crop varieties.
Engineers gather data on the quality and reliability of manufactured products. Most areas of academic study make use of numbers, and therefore also make use of the method of statistics. We can no more escape data than we can avoid the use of words. Just as words on a page are meaningless to the illiterate or confusing to the partially educated, so data do not interpret themselves but must be read with understanding. A writer can arrange words into convincing arguments or incoherent nonsense.